Barcelona boss Xavi Lambasted his players following the humiliating 3-0 loss to Bayern Munich on Wednesday that saw them crash out of the Champion League group stage.
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Barcelona boss Xavi said things have to change at Barcelona after they crashed out of the Champions League group stage following a humiliating 3-0 loss to Bayern Munich on Wednesday. The Catalan club has failed to qualify for the knockout stages of Champions League for the first time since the 2003-04 season when they competed in the UEFA Cup. Thomas Muller, Leroy Sane and Jamal Musiala got on the score sheet at the Allianz Arena as Bayern secured their sixth win to go through as group winners.
The defeat meant that Xavi’s side finished third in the group and will compete for the Europa League round of 32 next year. Meanwhile, Benfica defeated bottom team Dynamo Kyiv to go through as runners-up from the group.
Xavi, who is a Barcelona legend and one of the finest midfielders the game has seen, lambasted his players after the poor show in Germany. He went on to concede that the Catalan club are no longer at the same level as Bayern.
“Bayern dominated us,” he said. “We always want to dominate but it was the opposite here. We must demand more. We’re Barca. This must be a point of inflection to change the dynamic and many more things.
“This is the Champions League, but this is also our reality. It’s the situation we’re in. I’m angry. This is the reality and it p***es me off. We have to tackle it face on. There’s nothing else for it.
“A new era starts today. We start from zero. Our objective is the Champions League, not the Europa League, but that is our reality now and we have to try and win it.”
Barca failed to register even a single shot in the second half and were once again clearly outplayed by the Bavarian club. During the reverse fixture also Bayern had won with the same score-line. The backline was at sixes and sevens and struggled to handle the pace and movement of the Bayern attackers.
Sane, who played the No. 10 role behind Robert Lewandowski and Muller was easily finding pockets of space to work with. Meanwhile left-back Alphoso Davis who provided the assist for Musiala’s goal was unstoppable throughout the match.
Barca’s defence looked rusty while the passing up front wasn’t quick enough to break through the opposition.
“I’ve seen how tough the reality is,” Xavi added.
“I hoped we would compete better. Bayern are better. That’s the reality. But we’re going to work hard and give our all so that this doesn’t happen again. It’s a feeling of helplessness.
“We have to start to get Barca back where they belong, which is not in the Europa League. This is also a hammer blow for me as a coach. We will work hard to bring Barca back, but we have to change a lot, of course.”
Barca now face Osasuna, Elche and Sevilla in La Liga before the League’s short winter break. Xavi’s side is currently languishing at the seventh spot, 16 points behind leaders Real Madrid.
