Barcelona FC manager Xavi Hernandez has admitted his side does not deserve to remain in the Champions League following their draw with Inter Milan on Wednesday night at Camp Nou despite taking the lead by a lone goal at halftime.
Barcelona needed a Robert Lewandowski brace in the dying minutes of the match to salvage a three-all draw but result kept the Spanish giants’ chances of qualifying for the last 16 alive however will need Inter Milan to drop points in their final two games in Group C.
However, Xavi was not shy to mention that his team does not deserve to to remain in the competition.
“If you don’t beat Inter at home, you don’t deserve to stay in this competition. The first half was excellent, but the second half was not, we made a lot of mistakes. There are mistakes that can’t be allowed at the top level of football,” he said as quoted by GOAL.
“I’m very disappointed, sad, frustrated. I’m angry. I have to be self-critical, we don’t deserve to play in the Champions League. It hurts me, but it’s the truth,” he added.
Barcelona veteran Gerard Pique made a costly error as the Catalans were left staring into the abyss with their Champions League dreams in tatters.
A 3-3 draw at home to Inter Milan has left the Catalan club facing a costly early exit from the competition having leveraged much of their controversial summer business on a strong run in the competition.
Barcelona will be eliminated from the competition should Inter Milan beat so far point-less Viktoria Plzen in their next game.
Xavi was scathing of the errors made in the game and appeared to blame it for the loss of control his side suffered in the second period.
“This is the Champions League and you pay a high price for each error you make. You need to win, defend well, to score. We needed to play the entire game as we did in the first half. That intensity. Now it’s hard because we are not in control anymore.”
