FC Barcelona head coach Xavi Hernandez has punished his players for losing a vital La Liga clash with Girona according to AS correspondent Javi Miguel, who is regarded as being close to the manager's locker room and cited anonymous sources.

The former midfielder was left "sad and disappointed" after twice surrendering the lead in Montilivi and losing 4-2 to Michel's overachievers for the second time this season.

The win for Girona guaranteed them qualification to the Champions League for the first time in its history, but also handed Barca's bitter rivals Real Madrid a 36th Spanish top flight crown.

For Barca, the defeat had extra ramifications because it knocked them out of the top two spots required to seal qualification to the lucrative Spanish Super Cup which an economically-challenged outfit badly needs to participate in at the turn of 2025.

"I have the feeling that we give games away. It's very difficult to compete like that. But it's part of the immaturity of many footballers. I'm very sad and disappointed," Xavi stated in a fiery post-game rant.

"We've given the players all the confidence, but it's very difficult like that. It's also a lack of maturity. I hope to compete better next year, because it's practically impossible that way. They don't show it on the scoreboard when we're superior, we had the two games against Real Madrid and Girona under control, and they got away from us," he added.

While wins in big matches such as those on the road to the La Liga title last term saw Xavi reward his players with extra days off, the Girona defeat has had the reverse effect.

Instead, Xavi has instead "punished" his side by only letting them have Tuesday off and not the two-and-a-half days promised for beating their Catalan neighbours.

Anonymous sources explained to AS that the Joan Gamper CT had the atmosphere of a "real funeral" the day after the loss while a "jumble of long faces, few words and pitiful silences".

Barca now needs Girona to slip up in one of the four games that remain this campaign, and simultaneously has to win all theirs.