With Inter Milan defeating Czech Republic’s Viktoria Plzen 4-0 in the Champions League, Barcelona’s ambitions of making it into the Round of 16 have evaporated completely.
The Nerazzurri have qualified from their group alongside Bayern Munich, who are at the top of the table. The Italian side defeated Barcelona at the San Siro before drawing 3-3 with them at Camp Nou. And now, the Spanish side have joined Juventus in the second tier of European football.
Barcelona drop down to the Europa League for a second straight season
Last season, Xavi Hernandez took charge of the first team when their European group stage campaign was all but done. But after being in charge for a transfer window, and having a huge number of signings regardless of their financial status, things haven’t changed much.
The games against Inter Milan proved to be the deciding factors, after the early loss to Bayern Munich. While Barcelona were able to conjure up a decent attacking performance in terms of chance creation, their finishing left a lot to be desired along with their defence.
The new players have not made a major difference either, even though they were budgeted to make it to the quarter finals of the Champions League. This will likely make for an increasingly difficult calendar for the team with more games, as well as a lower financial return.
