Barcelona were dumped out of the Europa League on Thursday by Eintracht Frankfurt in a 3-2 defeat at Camp Nou in the competition’s quarter-final, but Xavi has denied the exit is a “failure” for the club.
The Blaugrana had gone 15 matches unbeaten before the defeat, riding high until a 1-1 aggregate scoreline entering play became a 4-3 finish that was nowhere near as close as the scoreline suggests.
It was certainly a low-point of Xavi’s tenure and one that will bring Barcelona back to earth after a red-hot run.
Frankfurt took the lead just four minutes in with a penalty from Filip Kostic before Rafael Borre hit an incredible long-range effort into the top corner.
With Barcelona desperately pushing for a way back into the tie, Kostic scored again in the 67th minute to effectively end the Spanish club’s hopes of advancement.
Barcelona managed two stoppage time consolation goals but fell short of what would have been a remarkable comeback.
Frankfurt will face West Ham in the semi-final.
How did Barcelona react to the loss?
Aside from blaming the number of Frankfurt fans in attendance at Camp Nou, Barcelona manager Xavi acknowledged his side were second-best most of the night.
“We have not played in the best way, we have not been well,” he said. “They have gone well against us and have scored a great goal with a silly loss of ours. Blow after blow. It is a very big disappointment. It’s a shame because we had hopes in this competition. Eintracht must be congratulated. They deserve it. We didn’t know how to generate chances despite having control of the ball.
“You like the word failure a lot, but we don’t see it that way. If there is failure, let there be learning, but I don’t see it that way. It is a very big disappointment. The goal is to enter the Champions League and that’s still alive.”