Barca must start from scratch, says frustrated Xavi
Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez vowed to return the Spanish giants to the pinnacle of European football after they crashed out of the Champions League yesterday morning (Singapore time) following a 3-0 loss at Bayern Munich.
Five-time European champions Barca were eliminated in the group stage for the first time in 21 years. They had reached the last 16 in each season since 2003/04, when they did not qualify for the competition.
Goals by Thomas Mueller and Leroy Sane gave Bayern a 2-0 half-time cushion in falling snow at the Allianz Arena, which was devoid of spectators due to high numbers of Covid-19 cases in Bavaria.
Teenager Jamal Musiala grabbed Bayern's third after the break to seal Barcelona's fate.
"I'm angry. I don't like that this is our reality now. We start a new era from here - to work hard and get back in the Champions League," said Xavi.
Group E winners Bayern join Liverpool and Ajax Amsterdam on a perfect six victories from six games in the group stage.
Benfica's 2-0 win at home to Dynamo Kiev means Barcelona finish third and drop into the Europa League.
"We start from scratch. Unfortunately, we are in the Europa League, which is not the place for us," insisted Xavi. "We will work hard to put Barcelona back in the right place...
"We have had some injuries, maybe we can sign some more players, but we start from zero."
Mueller offered an indictment of Barca's problems, telling DAZN: "I think Barca can't cope with the intensity.
"Technically, they have it all, they are great players tactically and technically.
"But they can't cope with the intensity in top football."
Like Xavi, Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel also cut a frustrated figure after they conceded a 94th-minute equaliser in a 3-3 draw with Zenit Saint Petersburg that caused them to finish second in Group H, behind Juventus.
Juve had beaten Malmo 1-0.
Said Tuchel: "We had a very good first 15 minutes and we stopped doing the things we did in the first 15 minutes...
"Once this drops even 10 per cent, once we start managing results and change our behaviour because of what the score is, we get punished. That happened to us at West Ham and it happened to us today."
Meanwhile, Group F winners Manchester United saw their second-string side draw 1-1 at home with Young Boys. The tie to decide second place between Atalanta and Villarreal was postponed to this morning due to heavy snowfall in Bergamo.
QUALIFIED FOR LAST 16
GROUP WINNERS: Ajax Amsterdam, Bayern Munich, Juventus, Liverpool, Man United, Man City, Real Madrid, Lille
RUNNERS-UP: Chelsea, Inter Milan, PSG, Sporting Lisbon, Atletico Madrid, Benfica, RB Salzburg
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