Barcelona's troubled times continue to be troublesome as the Catalan giants lost their last UEFA Champions League group stage match against Bayern Munich last night by an emphatic 3-0 margin.
Thomas Muller and Leroy Sane gave Bayern Munich a comfortable 2-0 lead heading into the first half and Jamal Musiala topped off the display with Bayern Munich's third goal in the 62nd minute.
The disappointing result, coupled with Benfica's 2-0 victory over Dynamo Kyiv in the other group match, meant that Barcelona have officially crashed out of this season's UEFA Champions League. The La Liga giants will now have to play in the UEFA Europa League. Notably, Barcelona will be conspicuous by their absence in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 for the first time since the 2004-05 season.
Although finishing 3rd in group E will disappoint Barcelona and their fans, the fact that they scored just 2 goals in 6 group games will be all the more worrying. As Barcelona currently languish in 7th place on the La Liga table, 16 points adrift of table-toppers Real Madrid, the league may not provide any respite for Xavi either this season.
Speaking after the 3-0 defeat to Bayern Munich, the Barcelona manager shared his two cents on the game. As per ESPN, he said:
"Bayern were better, superior. This is the harsh reality we have to face. I have told players that this is a turning-point. Today a new era begins and we have to take Barca where it deserves which is not the Europa League.
"I am frustrated because this is our reality. We start from scratch and we have to get Barca back to fighting for the Champions League. I now feel responsible. Now we have to go out and win the Europa League."
Last night's defeat was Barca's second consecutive defeat across competitions under Xavi and the Spanish tactician is bound to feel the pressure. The disheartening defeat and its humiliating consequences elicited reactions from all over the world on social media.
Twitter was the place to be as Barcelona fans indulged in shared gried whereas rival fans made merry. Of course, people were quick to point out the significance of Lionel Messi's absence, without whom Barcelona are ostensibly struggling.
Without further ado, here is a look at some of the