Barcelona boss Xavi has claimed that his Barcelona side are ‘on the right path’ despite dropping into the Europa League for a second consecutive season, adding that he felt his side ‘lacked maturity’ in their Champions League campaign to date.
Drawn in a group with Bayern Munich and Inter Milan, Barca have won just once in their five outings in Europe this season, and a 3-3 draw with Inter Milan effectively ended their hopes of qualifying, something that was confirmed a week later.
Now, they face Viktoria Plzen in a dead-rubber, with third place confirmed irrespective of the result, and a place in the Europa League heading into the New Year.
Despite this, however Xavi wants his side to stay focused.
‘We have nothing to play for, but this [Viktoria Plzen] is an important game’, he told the media.
‘We want to end this competition well.
‘We lack maturity. We have a lot of youngsters and we’ve had the worst Champions League group in years.
‘We’ve had injuries. They’re not excuses, but that has hurt us. With respect to last season, we have a better squad and we have given a better image in Europe. But we haven’t been up to the task.’
“We lost it [the chance to qualify] ourselves. We had the opportunity, and it has escaped us.
‘There are details such as refereeing decisions and adverse situations, but you have to be self critical.’
‘We have tried to compete in the Champions [League] and it wasn’t enough. The steps we have taken with respect to last year were smaller than we expected, but we have to be patient and keep working.
‘We have to persist and there is no need to hesitate. We are in the Europa League. We are on the right path. The titles will be won in 2023, we have to wait to see if we have options.’
