Barcelona’s journey in Europe came to an abrupt end last night as they lost 2-1 to Manchester United (4-3 on aggregate) in the UEFA Europa League knockout playoffs.
Much like the first leg at Camp Nou, Barça took the lead at Old Trafford through a Robert Lewandowski penalty but were unable to add to their tally despite controlling things for the most part in the first half.
Manchester United came out all guns blazing after the break, with Fred equalising for them before Antony scored the winner in the 73rd minute to send Barcelona packing from the tournament.
It was a blow for Barcelona and manager Xavi, who has now faced four eliminations in Europe in the time that he has been at the club (twice each in UCL and UEL).
Xavi laments Barcelona’s second-half display
Speaking after the match, the 43-year-old lamented his team’s lack of composure and intensity during the second half.
“I think we were worse in the second half, we lacked composure and patience. A single goal hurt us a lot. Today we lost because of the details,” Xavi said.
“It’s a big frustration, a pity because we were so excited. But we were facing a great opponent. They are strong physically. Their first goal hurt us a lot. We were able to make it 0-2, and we’ve had some chances, but we haven’t been able to take advantage of it.”
But, Xavi insisted that Barcelona had been much better in Europe this year than last season and vowed to come back stronger in 2023/24, saying:
“The difference with last year is that this year we competed. We competed against Inter and Bayern and today against Manchester United. They are a great team and it is difficult to compete against them. We should come back stronger next year.”
“We can’t be proud of ourselves, but we competed against a great rival. It’s a shame.”
The Barça boss also admitted that the key absences of players like Pedri and Gavi affected the team, saying: “We missed Pedri and Gavi today.”
“They scored two goals today, and two goals in the first leg. In the first half, we were very good, in the second half we were not. It’s a shame. It was an excellent first half,” he added.
Focus on what lies ahead
Xavi then stressed that it was important to learn from the mistakes and focus on what lies in front of the team, as they still have the La Liga title and Copa del Rey to compete for.
“Now we have to compete for La Liga and the Copa del Rey,” he said. “We have to try again, to compete. We have to learn from our mistakes in the small details. We have to compete better in those head-to-heads.”
The Barcelona legend urged the team to produce a reaction when they step out against UD Almeria in La Liga on Sunday, saying:
“We have to respond now. Next Sunday we have a game, we are in a very good position in La Liga and we have to keep on competing… We can’t give up now.”
The manager had an important update regarding Ronald Araujo, who was taken off in the second half for Marcos Alonso. The Uruguayan had been facing some physical discomfort prior to his injury, but Xavi has eased all fears of an injury, saying:
“Araujo will be available on Sunday. I took him off the pitch as a precaution.”
The 43-year-old also had good words for all the four midfielders he started on the night at Old Trafford, as he said: “Sergi Roberto and Kessie were very good today. Busquets and Frenkie de Jong were also great.”
Xavi once again touched upon the absences of Pedri and Gavi on the night, saying: “We have to recognise the absence of Gavi and Pedri, they are two important players for us, and the impact of their absence has been felt.”
“Hopefully next season we can compete better, but think we competed well. But in the end we lost. My feeling is that the situation is different from last season when it was impossible to compete. This season is different,” he concluded.
Source: BarçaTV+
