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The week has quickly moved from bad to worse for Barcelona following yet another damaging defeat in the UEFA Champions League. The Blaugrana were expected to embark on a resurgence after Ronald Koeman was replaced by Xavi Hernandez in early November.
However, nothing has changed at the Camp Nou. The team remains timid in defence, lethargic in possession and clueless in attack. While Xavi’s tenure began with a narrow with over Espanyol, Barcelona have now won just one of their last four games under the former midfielder. That includes back-to-back defeats to Real Betis and Bayern Munich.
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Bayern Munich destroy Blaugrana
Bayern Munich have become Barcelona’s bogey side in recent years. Their 8-2 thrashing of the Spanish side is still fresh in the minds of several fans.
Julian Nagelsmann’s side thumped Barcelona 3-0 in their first group meeting in the Champions League this season. They repeated the scoreline in the reverse fixture at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday.
Never have the Blaugrana appeared more helpless and hapless than they were on Wednesday against Bayern Munich. The Bavarian giants completely dominated the game, and had an easy stroll against their visitors.
The final score was 3-0 – thanks to goals from Thomas Muller, Leroy Sane and Jamal Musiala – but it could’ve been more. Bayern Munich simply destroyed Barcelona without breaking a sweat.
Xavi powerless to stop Barcelona wreck
Barcelona’s defeat against Bayern Munich, coupled with Benfica’s win over Dynamo Kyiv, meant the Blaugrana dropped to the Europa League after finishing third in the group.
As things stand now, the team is a wreck, and not even Xavi has the solution. The 41-year-old would hope to be able to make some signings in the January transfer window, but that is highly unlikely.
"We always want to dominate and subdue our opponent, but it was the other way around," Xavi said after his side’s heavy defeat to Bayern, as quoted by Marca.
"We have to demand more from ourselves. We are Barcelona. This has to be a turning point to change the dynamics and many other things. We did not compete. This is the Champions League.
The new Barcelona, though, accepted that he is facing a new reality, as the Blaugrana are no longer the dominating force they were during his playing days. He said in this regard:
"We started from scratch. Our goal is the Champions League, not the Europa League. You have to work hard. I don't like the word failure. I don't like it because we have tried."
"But this is our reality. It is the situation we are in. We face the situation with dignity. Today begins a new era and a new stage. I am leaving angry. This is our reality, and it pisses me off. We have to face it. There is no other option. Today a new era begins.”
With Barcelona 16 points behind Real Madrid and now dropping to the Europa League, things couldn’t have gotten worse for the Blaugrana. The unfortunate part is Xavi appears cluelss to stop this wreck.
