Barcelona boss Xavi has opened up on his frustration following Sunday's 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid at Bernabeu.

The Catalan outfit entered El Clasico top of the La Liga table, but they have now dropped to second, with Los Blancos securing all three points in front of their own supporters.

Real Madrid led 2-0 at the interval courtesy of goals from Karim Benzema and Federico Valverde before Ferran Torres halved the deficit late on, but Carlo Ancelotti's side made sure of the points in second-half stoppage time, with Rodrygo netting from the penalty spot.

Xavi admitted that the defeat left him feeling "bad and frustrated", and the 42-year-old said that his team must "improve in efficiency" in order to become a successful outfit.

"I don't feel happy about anything, the feeling is bad. Nothing comes out of this game despite faith and self-respect," Xavi told reporters.

© Reuters

"Today's match was a very good opportunity to continue leading but we came out empty-handed, we had options for a draw but we didn't take advantage of our moments.

"I feel bad and frustrated, we weren't as aggressive as we should have, defensively we weren't good and in transitions too, we didn't have a good match, yes but there were our moments, today we missed several things and we have to criticise ourselves.

"We talked about stopping the rebounds and transitions, and in their first attempt, they managed to score against us. We must criticise ourselves, we know internally we are not well, we are in a bad dynamic and we have to change that now, we have to improve in efficiency."

Xavi also insisted that Barcelona are still "building", with the head coach confident that his side will be able to "fight for championships" this season.

"We are in the process of building, we will fight for championships, it is still October and we have to make some changes. We are in a negative dynamic, fortunately, it's only three points," he added.

© Reuters

"This is football, now we have to recover for the next match. I won't ever blame the players. It won't happen. I am the captain of this ship and I take responsibility.

"The positive thing today is what happened in the second half. We played with enthusiasm and were able to beat Real Madrid when we were looking for the second goal.

"I don't think Madrid beat us in intensity, but they have in maturity. They know how to compete better than us, they are a more accomplished side and a more mature team than us at the moment."

Barcelona will be looking to return to winning ways when they face Villarreal on Thursday evening, while they will also take on Athletic Bilbao, Bayern Munich and Valencia before the end of the month.