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Xavi Hernandez has set an undesirable record following Barcelona's UEFA Champions League defeat to Royal Antwerp on Wednesday (13 December).
The Belgian club beat the Blaugrana 3-2, with goals from Arthur Vermeeren (6'), Vincent Janssen (56'), and George Ilenikhena (90+2'). Barcelona, knowing that they had qualified as group winners with a game to spare, had the luxury of making a host of changes to their starting XI.
Goals from Ferran Torres (35') and 17-year-old Marc Guiu (90+1') weren't enough for Barcelona to take anything away from the Bosuilstadion. In the process, Xavi became the quickest Spanish manager to reach six Champions League defeats as Barca's head coach, doing so in 14 games.
According to journalist Fran Martinez on X (@LaLigaenDirecto), Pep Guardiola's first six defeats came in 52 matches with a loss percentage of just 12%. Luis Enrique's first six Champions League losses came in 33 matches (18%). Xavi's loss percentage of 43% is, hence, markedly poorer than theirs.
Barcelona, as expected, qualified as group winners, with 12 points to their name. Porto, with a worse head-to-head record, finished second with the same amount of points.
Shakhtar Donetsk will be demoted to the UEFA Europa League after securing nine points and finishing third. Antwerp, meanwhile, picked up their first points in Europe this season in their win against Barca.
A brief look at Xavi Hernandez's six UEFA Champions League losses at Barcelona
Xavi Hernandez was appointed Barcelona's head coach in November 2021. He took charge of their last two Champions League group-stage games that season, overseeing a goalless draw against SL Benfica and a 3-0 loss to Bayern Munich.
Barca finished third in their group and dropped down to the UEFA Europa League — a fate they suffered the following season as well. During that campaign, they lost to Bayern twice — 2-0 at the Allianz Arena and 3-0 at home, while also losing 1-0 to Inter Milan in Milan.
The loss against Antwerp was Barca's second in Europe this season, with the first one coming against Shakhtar Donetsk (1-0) in Hamburg. Xavi has won a total of six Champions League matches as Barca's coach, drawing the other two, and is yet to manage a game in the knockout rounds.
