Xavi Hernandez has admitted that he is to blame for Barcelona’s Champions League exit.
Despite making significant investments in the team this summer, La Blaugrana were eliminated from Europe’s premier competition in the group stages for the second consecutive season.
Their elimination was made official by Inter’s 4-0 victory over Vitkoria Plzen and subsequent 3-0 loss to Bayern Munich, the group’s top team, later that evening.
What Xavi said about Barcelona’s Champions League exit
After the match, Barça head coach Xavi made an admission to the media in which he accepted responsibility for the team’s Champions League failures, he said: “I am the main one responsible for the elimination.
“The truth is that this year, unlike the last, I felt like we had the squad to win this tournament. What happened is unacceptable.
“In Munich, we were better than Bayern and we didn’t take advantage of that. I was affected after the match in Milan. The refereeing decisions were unfair and so was the result.”
Xavi also spoke about the actual match at Camp Nou, claiming that it was the first time this year that Barcelona didn’t try to outplay their opponents, he said: “Barça didn’t compete today, we didn’t reach Bayern’s level. Bayern were better today, they played more intensely and aggressively.
“The truth is that knowing that we had already been eliminated from the Champions League before the game against Bayern has affected us a lot. For the first time this season, I felt like we didn’t compete at all. They overtook us completely. We’re out because our mistakes, nothing else.”
