Barcelona boss Xavi has said that his side were beaten by Real Madrid in El Clasico on Saturday afternoon as they "were not effective" during the La Liga contest.

Ilkay Gundogan gave Barcelona the perfect start to the match when he found the back of the net in the sixth minute, and the Catalan outfit had chances to double their advantage in the first period.

Real Madrid were much improved after the break, though, and Jude Bellingham levelled the scores in the 68th minute before the England international netted the winner in the final moments.

Xavi has said that his side's inability to turn their strong play into more goals led to their first loss of the 2023-24 campaign in any competition.

"We did not lose because of the referee, we lost because we were not effective," Barcelona Universal quotes the Barcelona boss as saying after the league contest.

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"Even a draw wouldn't reflect what we saw on the pitch. I think we played a game to win but we lost, a bad result although I think we played a good game. It's hard, but the goal is to win the league and this isn't over.

"I think our plan worked well, but we lacked effectiveness. Maybe I'm exaggerating a little at first review, but I think we deserved the victory.

"We should have scored the 2-0, and if you don't, Real Madrid will kill you... 65 good minutes from us, one goal. 25 good minutes for them, two goals. We were not effective. It's as simple as that.

"The fact is that Real Madrid created very few chances. A shot from outside the box and a rebound from a cross. We were unlucky.

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"This is only round 11 of La Liga. We must be patient and continue working. The team played well."

There were positives to take from the contest for Barcelona, meanwhile, with Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha featuring as second-half substitutes after recovering from injuries.

Jules Kounde was also back on the bench following a spell out with a knee issue, and there is a hope that Pedri and Frenkie de Jong will be available before the November international break.

The result has left Barcelona in third spot in the table on 24 points from 11 matches, four points behind division leaders Real Madrid, who have returned to the summit ahead of Girona.