Can Barcelona make inroads in Europa League? Here's what boss Xavi believes
Barcelona boss Xavi Hernandez believes that his side will put its best foot forward when they compete in the Europa League for the second consecutive year.
FollowLast week, Barcelona's Champions League 2022-23 campaign came to a disappointing end, sending the Catalan club into the Europa League for the second consecutive year after finishing third in Group C. It will not be easy for Xavi Hernandez's men in Europe's second-tier competition as they will be battling teams like Arsenal, Ajax, PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United and Real Sociedad.
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However, the Barcelona boss is optimistic that the team can go the distance in the Europa League. "There remains the Europa League and we are one of the candidates. The objective is to compete in it and if we can, win it. We have to go far. It is a complicated competition. It is a challenge for the team," Xavi Hernandez said.
On Tuesday night, Barcelona drew curtains on their Champions League campaign with a 4-2 win over Viktoria Plzen. Coming into the clash, knowing that the result would be inconsequential, the Catalan club took their chances by making several changes. Marcos Alonso opened their goal fest in the sixth minute, followed by Ferran Torres' strike close to half-time.
Viktoria Plzen pulled one back early in the second half through Tomas Chory, but Torres soon reinstated Barcelona's two-goal cushion. However, Chory scored his second goal minutes later to set up for a captivating end, but Pablo Torre scored in the 75th minute to seal the win for the Blaugrana.
On the performance against Viktoria, Xavi stated he was not pleased entirely and believed the team could have done better. "I'm satisfied with a few things and not so much with some others. It was a difficult game, they were very intense and created many chances. We were good in attack, we didn't lose many balls and we attacked the spaces well. But we suffered so much in defence," the Barcelona boss said.
Discussing Barcelona's exit from the Champions League, Xavi added, "The assessment is negative. We had it in our hands after playing very well in Munich and in phases in Milan but we didn't do the job. Bayern and Inter took advantage of their moments, we didn't."
