FC Barcelona was eliminated from the UEFA Champions League for the second successive season on Wednesday night following a crushing 3-0 defeat at the hands of Bayern Munich. The Catalan club will now finish the group stage in third place in Group C, enabling them to qualify for the Europa League knockout round playoffs.
“We were not at Bayern’s level today,” Barca manager Xavi admitted following his team’s loss on home soil. “I have said that we have to be united, tackle the situation head on. We have been knocked out of the Champions League but the season does not end in October. There are other competitions,” Xavi continued as focus now turns to La Liga and the Europa League.
Potentially joining Barca in the Europa League are La Liga rivals Atletico Madrid, who were kept in third place in Group B following a frustrating 2-2 draw at home to Bayer Leverkusen. Still, with Leverkusen trailing by just one point, Atletico will have to remain focused in their final group game in order to avoid losing their Europa League slot to the German side.
With Sevilla also eliminated from the competition, Real Madrid is now the only Spanish team to qualify for the knockout stages; the first time that this has happened this century.
