Barcelona will return to the Europa League after a gap of 18 years after being knocked out of the CL following a disappointing 3-0 loss to Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena. Xavi’s men needed to win in Munich, or even draw depending on what happened in the Benfica-Dynamo game. Unfortunately for them, SLB picked up all three points in Lisbon, leaving this as a must-win game and despite Bayern missing several starters, Julian Nagelsmann’s men were too good for Barca.
A steady decline in the Champions League
As many Barca fans would already be aware, there’s been a steady decline in their Champions League performances over the last few years- you could perhaps even call this inevitable in a sense. Lionel Messi’s exit was perhaps the final nail in the coffin.
2018/19– SF loss to Liverpool
2019/20– QF loss to Bayern Munich (the 8-2 loss!)
2020/21– Ro16 loss to Paris SG
2021/22– Didn’t qualify from group stages
Madrid based paper AS went with the “To Hell” headline, and that’s a pretty apt description of the current state of affairs at the club.
Only two goals scored in the competition
Shocking as it might sound, Barcelona only scored TWO goals in the entire group stage this season. Those two were in the 1-0 wins home and away against Dynamo. Bayern, by comparison, scored a whopping 22 goals in the same group- an illustration of the gap in quality between them and the Catalans currently.
Another interesting statistic- Lionel Messi by himself has scored 5 for PSG in this season’s CL so far.
What can they do in the EL?
The EL offers an element of redemption and a chance of a trophy for new manager Xavi. A look at the current EL odds via MyBettingSites.com has the Catalan giants as favourites for that trophy alongside the likes of Sevilla and Dortmund- the latter two, like FCB, have dropped into the EL after finishing third in their respective CL groups.
It’s been widely acknowledged that Barca’s players aren’t quite where they need to be fitness wise, and have struggled to match the intensity of their stronger continental rivals over the full 90 minutes. If Xavi can sort that out soon, they could be genuine contenders for the crown. It won’t be easy though- fellow Spanish side Sevilla are always good in this competition and the likes of Lyon and Lazio aren’t pushovers, and everybody will be itching to take Barca’s scalp.
Nature of defeat disappointing
Despite Bayern missing several key players like Leon Goretzka, Joshua Kimmich and Serge Gnabry, few expected anything but a comfortable victory for the home side at the Allianz. And that’s exactly how it panned out- it almost looked like Bayern were playing it like a training session, and could’ve easily put five or six past Barca if they really wanted to.
Barca offered very little in terms of xG & chances, just as they had done at the Nou Camp back in September against the same opponents.
Local newspaper Sport’s ratings pretty much tell the story- too easy for Bayern, who didn’t have even have to get out of second gear to overcome their listless opponents.
