Barcelona boss Xavi Hernandez has admitted his team struggled in their friendly loss to Club America.
La Blaugrana travelled to the USA for a controversial mid-season clash as part of a wider plan to bring in extra funds before the end of 2023.
Despite losing 3-2 to the Mexican side in Dallas, Barcelona reportedly picked up a €4.5m cash injection from match organisers and sponsors, after missing out on €5.6m after losing two Champions League group stage games.
The result was an irrelevance for Xavi and his players as they now head into a winter break from La Liga action.
Xavi named a rotated starting team in Texas, with a host of young players given an opportunity to impress, alongside selected first team names.
Issues over player fatigue were raised prior to Barcelona flying out to the USA and Xavi acknowledged the long flight and 90 minutes of match action were a problem for his team.
“It was a great match. Both teams made it into a spectacle, with chances and goals”, as per reports from Marca.
“For our part, we gave opportunities to our young players. The older players who played we were clearly tired.”
