Mueez Ajao
– Barcelona coach Xavi was left ‘p***ed off’ after his team were beaten 2-0 by Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
– Despite registering 18 shots to Bayern’s 14, the German champions emerged victorious at the Allianz Arena thanks to second-half goals by Lucas Hernandez and Leroy Sane to take control of Group C.
– Xavi’s side were left to pay for profligacy in front of goal and the coach made no secret of his irritation afterwards.
Also Read: Bayern beat Barca to extend perfect continental start
– ‘I’m p***ed off, I’m p***ed off. I don’t like to lose – and we didn’t deserve it,’ he told Movistar TV.
– ‘I think we were better, we dominated them. We made six or seven big goal chances but missed them and Bayern took their opportunity.
– ‘We competed, we played very well and had we scored it would have been a completely different match.
– ‘This is the Champions League though, you need to compete and you try to avoid marking the error at the corner which let them go 1-0 up.
– ‘No way should our rival be allowed to score from a failure of marking at a corner when we have the match under control.
– ‘Or to score down the middle on a counter-attack. We must learn from these mistakes. We can’t let them off the hook so much.
– ‘I’m leaving here pretty hacked off because this was a night to win. But I’m also feeling proud of the team.
– ‘However, it’s about winning and we’ll need to compete better in crucial moments like the two goals and to be more effective when we create chances.’
🎙 Xavi: We deserved much more today#BayernBarça | @ChampionsLeague pic.twitter.com/i5qYfxfUKC
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) September 13, 2022
🎙 Xavi: We matched Bayern in many aspects and in many aspects we were superior pic.twitter.com/6fUd5CGNPR
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) September 13, 2022
– Bayern crushed Barcelona 3-0 both home and away when they met in last season’s Champions League group stage, so this represented a slight improvement.
– But Xavi was still left frustrated as his team’s unbeaten start to the season came to an end in Bavaria.
– With Inter Milan beating Viktoria Plzen 2-0 on Tuesday night, a great deal hinges on the upcoming meetings between Barcelona and the Italian side.
– The two heavyweights meet at the San Siro on October 4 and in the Nou Camp on October 12. Both have picked up three points in the group so far.
– Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann dismissed concerns over Sadio Mane’s sharpness after the £35million summer signing from Liverpool failed to have a shot against Barcelona.
– ‘He put in so much for Liverpool,’ Nagelsmann said. ‘He’s a new signing, he just needs to adapt. He was trying. I’m certain he will succeed for us.’
– On the match, Nagelsmann added: ‘In the first half, Barcelona had the better chances than us; our final ball wasn’t quite there.
– ‘It was much better in the second half, and our efficiency made the difference.’
