MUNICH: Barcelona will not play in the knockout rounds of the Champions League for the first time in 18 years after a 3-0 loss to Bayern Munich on Wednesday ensured the Catalan club was eliminated from European soccer’s premier competition.
Barcelona 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 of the evening.
That ended a Barcelona campaign which would have been unthinkable in the club’s heyday with Lionel Messi up front and Pep Guardiola as coach from 2008 through 2012. The 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-place Dynamo, and conceded nine.
“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,” coach Xavi Hernández told broadcaster DAZN. “This is our reality. We are out of Champions League, we are in Europa League, but this is not the place of Barcelona.”
The five-time European champion last failed to make the Champions League last 16 in 2003-04. That season, Barcelona missed the Champions League entirely and played in what was then the UEFA Cup, thanks to a poor Spanish league finish the season before.
Defeat in the snow in Munich will deepen Barcelona’s already overwhelming financial problems as it misses out on lucrative prize money and exposure for sponsors. Sitting seventh in La Liga means Barcelona may not even qualify for next year’s competition.
“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 in August 2020, 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 Wednesday was one of fine margins, with goal-line technology required to show Thomas Müller’s looping header had crossed the line before Ronald Araujo belatedly attempted to clear.
The second was a simple goalkeeping error as Marc-André ter Stegen let Leroy Sané’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-place 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. Coach Julian Nagelsmann told DAZN his team could have scored “more than three” goals against Barcelona.
Bayern is the only German team in the round of 16 after Borussia Dortmund, Leipzig and Wolfsburg all fell short in the group stage. The last time that happened was 2017-18.
Besides the shock of not qualifying, Barcelona may have to deal with an injury for Jordi Alba after the full-back limped off with an apparent thigh problem.
Barcelona out of Champions League in loss to Bayern Munich
https://arab.news/vv7n9
Barcelona out of Champions League in loss to Bayern Munich
Pineau leads by 1 as Vecchi Fossa stars at Hilton Classic in Tangier
- Leaders hit a 2-under-par 70 in what proved arguably the most challenging conditions of the MENA Golf Tour season so far
TANGIER: France’s Pierre Pineau holds a one-shot lead heading into the final round of the Hilton Classic at Al-Houara Golf Club in Tangier after battling to a two-under-par 70 in arguably the most challenging conditions of the MENA Golf Tour season so far.
Italy’s Jacopo Vecchi Fossa produced a stunning six-under 66 to storm into contention despite the torrential afternoon rain.
Pineau, who began the day on three-under par, made four birdies against two bogeys to move to five under overall and head a congested leaderboard.
He navigated the morning conditions well enough, reaching the turn one-under for his round, before digging deep on the back nine as the weather deteriorated sharply.
“On the back nine I just fought as hard as I could,” Pineau said. “The rain was not so much about distance, it was more about the ball sliding on the face on chips and wedges. I have played in tough, changing weather before so I felt comfortable adapting.”
“It would mean a lot to win because I have struggled over the last 12 months, so it would be a big boost of confidence,” he added. “After today my confidence is in a good place.”
Three players share second place on four-under par. England’s Curtis Knipes carded a composed 71, making birdies at the ninth, 13th and 15th to offset bogeys at the first and 17th and maintain his challenge.
Pakistan’s Aadam Syed also signed for a 71, his four birdies countered by three dropped shots in a battling round he described as a constant test of patience.
“It was a real battle out there today,” Syed said. “Yesterday was windy but it eased over the last six holes and you could start firing at flags. Today it was constant all day, so patience was key.”
Syed, who had his father on the bag, is chasing a first title. “To win on the MENA Golf Tour would mean a great deal,” he said. “I have not won as a professional yet, so to tick that off would be huge and would confirm to myself that I am good enough.”
The third member of the second-place trio was the story of the day. Fossa, who started on the first tee, produced a flawless six-under 66, featuring four birdies and an eagle at the 10th, all without a bogey despite the increasingly brutal afternoon conditions.
“Honestly, I don’t really know how I did it,” Vecchi Fossa said. “On the back nine it was rain and wind the whole way and I was hitting hybrid and three wood into par fours straight into the wind. It was crazy out there.
“The hardest part was gripping the club with so much water, but I managed to hit a lot of fairways and the putts went in, which made the difference.”
France’s Andoni Etchenique and overnight leader Aron Zemmer, who slipped back with a two-over 74, share fifth place on three-under par.
Ireland’s Alex Maguire, the round one co-leader, dropped two shots to sit at two under with New Zealand’s Luke Kidd and Ireland’s Paul McBride in a tie for seventh.
Ayoub Lguirati remains the highest-placed Moroccan heading into the final round, the home favorite signing for a 74 to sit on two-over par in a share of 20th place, with compatriots Ayoub Ssouadi and Issam Nakrou also making the cut.
The final round of the Hilton Classic gets underway on Wednesday, with the $100,000 prize fund and Official World Golf Ranking points on the line.
