Barcelona manager Xavi has indicated his misfortune in Wednesday’s 3-0 defeat to Bayern Munich at the Alliance Arena that sent them to the Europa League.
According to Xavi the Spanish giant Barcelona doesn’t belong in the Europa League after booking their Europa League spot.
“They were better than us,” Xavi said of Bayern Munich to Movistar. “This is the reality that now faces us. We’re in the Europa League. A new era starts today.
“Barcelona doesn’t belong in the Europa League, they belong in the Champions League. We start again from zero.”
With Benfica’s win over Dynamo Kyiv Barcelona needed a victory of their own against Bayern Munich to advance to the knockout stage but was beaten by 3:0 at the Alliance Arena to book their spot in the Europa League round of 32.
The last time Barcelona was expelled from the Champions League this early was 2000-01 when the Europa League was still known as the UEFA Cup.