Barcelona’s stunning fall from grace was completed this morning as a 3-0 football lesson at the hands of Bayern Munich shut them out of the knockout rounds of the Champions League for the first time in 18 years.
Already reeling from a financial crisis and the devastating loss of Lionel Messi, club legends Gerard Pique and Sergio Busquets cut hapless figures as they failed to keep pace with the rampant German giants.
Cash-strapped Barcelona would have also received a $15 million lifeline for qualifying for the round of 16.
Watch Messi, Ronaldo and football’s biggest superstars in the UEFA Champions League with every match streaming ad free, live and on demand only on Stan Sport. Start your seven day free trial here!
Former Socceroos captain Craig Foster – a huge admirer of Barca’s wildly successful and stylish reign – had particular sympathy for Pique and Busquets.
“World Cup winners, two guys who have taken part in a team that have kind of redefined football and played football at such an exceptional level and won trophy after trophy after trophy – it’s such a fall,” Foster said on Stan Sport’s post-game coverage.
“And it must be so difficult, I mean Pique’s having a really difficult time because it’s clear that he’s becoming slower, he’s losing the speed that he had and therefore he needs better coaching, better people around him, a little bit of protection.
READ MORE: Peng Shuai ‘definitely not safe, not well’ according to lawyer
READ MORE: Mercedes ends $7.4 million-a-year sponsorship deal
READ MORE: Brutal Wayne Bennett sledge that floored Origin star
https://twitter.com/StanSportFC/status/1468702548622151683?s=20
“And at the moment, this season, he’s just been totally, absolutely exposed.
“The person next to him has changed almost every game and so it’s very, very difficult after what they’ve been through.”
Barcelona now drops into the Europa League playoffs after finishing third in Group E, thanks to Benfica’s 2-0 win over Dynamo Kyiv in the other game this morning.
That would have been unthinkable in the club’s heyday with Messi, football’s king, at his peak and Pep Guardiola as coach from 2008 through 2012.
Barca’s group stage began with a 3-0 loss to Bayern at the Camp Nou and got worse with a 3-0 defeat and 0-0 draw against Benfica.
Barcelona scored only two goals in six games, both against last placed Dynamo, and conceded nine.
“Should all football lovers around the world today put their footballs outside their house in mourning for Barcelona?” former Manchester United goalkeeper Mark Bosnich said on Stan Sport.
“With the finances at the moment it’s obviously very important. But from a footballing and club perspective this is a low point and long-term it might be a good thing for them.”
Foster added that the loss was “extremely damaging” to Barca’s bank account.
https://twitter.com/StanSportFC/status/1468709473480966148?s=20
“We start a new era, from zero, from here, to work hard and to recover Barca and to put Barca in the place that we deserve, that is in the top of the Champions League,” club legend turned manager Xavi said afterwards.
“This is our reality. We are out of Champions League, we are in Europa League, but this is not the place of Barcelona.”
Sitting seventh in La Liga means Barcelona may not even qualify for next year’s Champions League.
https://twitter.com/StanSportFC/status/1468747222871248897?s=20
“We need to work hard, many things that put Barcelona in this situation. But this is our reality. I cannot say anything else,” Xavi said.
“We need to win Europa League, work hard for recovering points in La Liga, win the cup, win the Super Cup, this is what Barcelona deserve…
“We will try to work hard. We have many injuries. Maybe we can sign some players now in January. Let’s see.”
Unlike the hammer blow of Barcelona’s 8-2 loss to Bayern last year, this time the German champions calmly took their time dismantling a Barcelona team which only registered two shots on target.
The first goal Barcelona conceded was one of fine margins, with goal line technology required to show Thomas Muller’s looping header had crossed the line before Ronald Araujo belatedly attempted to clear.
The second was a simple goalkeeping error as Marc-Andre ter Stegen let Leroy Sane’s speculative long range shot bounce off his arm and in.
That left Xavi’s team 2-0 down at halftime and needing either its own stunning comeback or a similar feat from last placed Dynamo against Benfica.
The deficit worsened in the 62nd minute when Alphonso Davies, the Canadian left back whose pace had caused problems all game, cut the ball back from the touchline for Jamal Musiala, who applied a simple finish from within a crowd of Barcelona players.
Playing at home in an empty stadium because of new pandemic-related restrictions, Bayern was already assured of qualifying as the group winner and finished with six wins from six games, matching Liverpool and Ajax on a perfect record this season.
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!