The Champions League end in sight, plus a Clasico bankruptcy against Real Madrid. It's not an easy few weeks for FC Barcelona and Xavi, who perceives a "negative dynamic".

Despite the good start in La Liga so far - the defeat against Real was the first of the whole season - the mood at FC Barcelona is subdued. In particular, the poor performances in the Champions League, which have brought FC Barcelona to the brink of safe elimination from the group stage, have sparked discussions as to whether Xavi is the right coach for the Catalans.

Sunday's 3-1 defeat by their arch-rivals did little to lift spirits. After the game, Xavi made no bones about the fact that everything seems to be going wrong for Barcelona.

"The feeling is that we're in a negative dynamic," he said. "We tried. We have confidence, confidence. We tried. Luckily it's only three points. It was a chance to keep up with the leaders but we're leaving empty-handed."

"We need to change the dynamic. We played very well in La Liga. We're still developing but we need to improve a lot," urged the former world-class player. "We pushed Real Madrid back. We had our moments but we didn't make the most of them. Real Madrid are top of the table. We're in a very negative dynamic that we need to change quickly."

"I don't think we were bad in the first half," he told critics. "We dominated. I think we had our chances, but they were very good in the second half. We lacked penetration. If we want to win these games, we have to change our mentality. We have a bad momentum."

Asked what Barcelona need to do to react to this difficult period, Xavi admitted his side need to develop more maturity in intense moments.

"We talked about not allowing the first goal to happen," he began. "Madrid used three counterattacks. I'm worried that we didn't attack well, that we didn't take advantage of our moments. It wasn't a good day. We have a bad dynamic and we have to change that now. We have to mature and fight much better."

"We have to learn the hard way. Everything is balanced at this level. We have to play much better," said the 42-year-old. "I won't blame the players. I'm responsible. I'll explain what happened. It's my mistake, certain mistakes. We have to change the dynamic, it's a long season.

This article was originally published on 90min.com as Clasico defeat: Xavi sees "negative momentum" at FC Barcelona.