Xavi Reacts After Barca’s Disappointing Draw Against Inter

Barcelona head coach Xavi says the Catalans do not deserve to progress to the knockout stage of this season’s Champions League following their disappointing 3-3 draw at the Nou Camp.

Barcelona’s hopes of making it to the round of 16 suffered a setback after the six-goal thriller with Inter.

All Inter need now is a win against Viktoria Plzen to guarantee qualification for the Round of 16, whereas Barcelona are heading for the Europa League for the second year in a row.

“The first half was excellent, we attacked well and made Inter suffer, working well in midfield with Pedri and Gavi. In the second half, we made too many mistakes, starting from the one of their first goal that made our heads drop.

“There was an error on the second goal too and that cannot happen in this type of match. Mistakes are expensive in the Champions League.

“We tried to fight back with character, but if you can’t beat Inter at home, you don’t deserve to progress in the Champions League.”

“We know that it is no longer in our hands, we don’t deserve to carry on in the Champions League. There isn’t much hope left, you pay a heavy price for these errors. It was an excellent first half and we made two fatal errors

“I am the coach and must take responsibility when my players make mistakes. We should’ve been more concentrated, but came out for the second half with the wrong attitude.”

“It is a tough blow for us, the right word would be cruel.

“We’ve got to focus on the Liga, where we want to remain top. It’s a long season, we didn’t give our best due to our own errors and this competition has been cruel to us. We must carry on.”