FC Barcelona’s young midfielder Pedri has slammed his side after a 3-0 loss to Bayern Munich, saying the Catalans “do not deserve” to compete in the Champions League.
In what was one of Barcelona’s worst performances this season, the side conceded three goals at Camp Nou, putting head coach Xavi Hernandez under massive pressure.
Inter Milan’s victory over Viktoria Plzen on Tuesday had already eliminated Barcelona from the Champions League even before the Catalans’ penultimate group game went underway at Camp Nou. The misery doubled when Xavi and Co performed poorly against the Bundesliga champions.
For the second season in a row, Barcelona have been dropped to Europa League.
Pedri, who started the match against Bayern Munich in Barcelona’s midfield, was one of the team’s better players that night. He played for around an hour before Xavi decided to substitute him in a bid to give him rest, keeping in mind the hectic schedule ahead.
“Of course, it’s a failure, Barca have to get out of the group and they haven’t because we didn’t deserve to continue in the Champions League. We are a very young team, with a lot of room for improvement, we have made great signings, but it has not been enough for us enough to compete in the Champions League and it’s a great disappointment,” Pedri told Movistar after the game, as per Goal.
From five games in Champions League’s group stage so far, Barcelona have managed to get just one win. They will next take on Viktoria Plzen in a dead rubber fixture before turning their focus to Europa League.
“We lack many things, but we have to be self-critical. It is true that in Munich we deserved more, in Milan there were a couple of circumstances… but after seeing what happened today it has been seen that we are not prepared to compete in the Champions League,” Pedri added.
Mark Kolbe/Getty Images
Meanwhile, Xavi has backed Barcelona to put up a fight in all the remaining competitions in the 2022-23 campaign.
“We have to fight for all the titles in the next months. There are Europa League, La Liga, Copa del Rey and Supercopa; I’m convinced we can fight in all the competitions. I really think that La Liga is at the same level as the Premier League,” Xavi said, according to Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano.
Xavi on his future: “We have to fight for all the titles in the next months. There are Europa League, La Liga, Copa del Rey and Supercopa; I’m convinced we can fight in all the competitions”. 🔵🔴 #FCB
“I really think that La Liga is at the same level as the Premier League”. pic.twitter.com/iw23xL7K9F
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) October 27, 2022
Barcelona’s next game is an away fixture against Valencia in La Liga on Saturday. The Catalans are placed second in the league table and are just three points behind table-toppers Real Madrid.
