Barcelona Coach Xavi Hernandez wants the club’s early Champions League elimination to be seen as a turning point and the start of a new era at Camp Nou.
Goal from Thomas Muller, Leroy Sane and Jamal Musiala earn Bayern Munich One 3-0 win at Allianz Arena on Wednesday and condemn Barca with a Europa League spot in the new year.
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This is the first time since the 2003-04 season, when Barca entered the UEFA League, the Catalan club will not be in the knockout stages of the Champions League, which they have won five times.
Xavi, who replaced Ronald Koeman as coach in November, admits the Munich loss was a wake-up call to the scale of the task he faces.
“Bayern dominated us,” he said. “We always want to dominate but here it is the opposite. We have to ask for more. We are Barca. This has to be the inflection point to change the dynamics and much more.
“This is the Champions League, but this is also our reality. It’s our situation. I’m angry. This is reality and it upsets me. We have to face it. Nothing. other for it.
“A new era starts today. We started from zero. Our goal is the Champions League, not the Europa League but that is our reality now and we have to try and win it.”
Xavi’s return to Barcelona as coach started with two wins and one draw, but defeat to Bayern came after a 1-0 comeback at home. Real Betis in LaLiga at the weekend, leaving Barca languishing in 7th place in the rankings.
“I’ve seen how difficult reality can be,” Xavi added. “I hope we will play better. Bayern are better. That is reality. But we will work hard and give our all so that this does not happen again. It is a feeling of helplessness.
“We have to start to get Barca back where they belong, it’s not the Europa League. This is also a big blow for me as a coach. We will work hard to make it happen. bring Barca back, but we have to change a lot, of course.”
Barca have fallen sharply since the last time they won the Champions League in 2015. Since then, they have suffered heavy defeats. Paris Saint-Germain (twice), Juventus (twice), AS Roma and Liverpool.
Meanwhile, Bayern have now beaten them 8-2, 3-0 and 3-0 in their three meetings over the past 16 months.
“I don’t think Barca can cope with this intensity,” said Bayern midfielder Muller, who opened the scoring on Wednesday. “Technically, they have it all, they have great players tactically and technically. But they can’t cope with the intensity in top football.”
Muller opened the scoring in the 34th minute, with Sane scoring a second in a long-range challenge just before the break. Musiala scored the third in the second half after good work from Alphonso Davies.
Bayern clinched their spot in the round of 16 as the group’s winners, but the win ensured they progressed with a 100% record just the second time around.
They entered the knockout round by BenficaWho beat? Dynamo Kiev 2-0 on Wednesday to take the lead against Barca in second place in Group E.
