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Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez believes injuries and a lack of physicality cost them in their match against Manchester United.
The Blaugrana fell to a 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford in the second leg of their UEFA Europa League playoff tie on Thursday, February 23. Xavi's team took the lead through Robert Lewandowski's 18th-minute penalty. However, Brazilians Fred (47') and Antony (73') struck in the second half to give United a comeback win.
The result meant the Red Devils secured a 4-3 win on aggregate and progressed into the last 16 of this season's Europa League. It also marked the end of yet another premature European sojourn for the Catalans.
Speaking after the match, Xavi indicated that Manchester United were more physically dominant than his Barcelona team on Thursday. He said (as quoted by @ManagingBarca on Twitter via The People's Person):
“It’s a great disappointment. We were competitive, but physically they were better. We had the chance to make it 2-0, after a balanced first half. We have improved from last season, but it wasn’t enough.”
The Spanish tactician also indicated that the absence of Pedri Gonzalez and Pablo Gavi hurt the Blaugrana at Old Trafford:
“They scored two goals in both matches, with Pedri & Gavi it would have been different. Well, now let's go for the league & the cup.”
Pedri missed out on the second leg against Manchester United due to a hamstring injury, while Gavi was suspended after accumulating multiple yellow cards. The Catalans were also without Ousmane Dembele, who is yet to recover from a thigh problem.
Barcelona's struggles in Europe continue as Manchester United dump Xavi's team out of Europa League
Despite boasting some big names in their squad, Barcelona are no longer the heavyweights they once were in Europe. Since making the UEFA Champions League semifinals in the 2018-19 season, the Catalans have not gotten past the quarterfinal stage in European competitions.
The ongoing campaign has been particularly deflating for the Blaugrana. Despite boasting an incredible defensive record in La Liga with only seven goals conceded in 22 matches, they shipped 12 goals in six Champions League matches.
A group-stage exit from the competition has now been compounded upon by the defeat to Manchester United in the first hurdle in the UEFA Europa League.
Manager Xavi Hernandez believes Barcelona have failed to match the levels of the big teams they have faced this term. Prior to their tie against United, they faced Bayern Munich and Inter Milan in the Champions League. The Catalans failed to win any of their six games against the three teams, losing on four occasions.
“We faced very strong teams this season: Inter Milan, Bayern Munich, Manchester United… and we couldn’t beat them. Let’s try again next season,” Xavi said (via the aforementioned source).
The Barcelona boss does believe there were some positives, though, and said:
“The difference between last year and this year is that now we compete, with Bayern, Inter and Man Utd. They are big teams and it’s hard to compete against them. We will come back stronger next year.”
Barcelona's focus will now shift to domestic competitions. They remain eight points clear at the top of La Liga and have a Copa del Rey semifinal against rivals Real Madrid to come, with the first leg set to take place next month.
