‘Divided fans’: Xavi slams Camp Nou atmosphere as Barca crash out of UEL

Barcelona manager Xavi on Wednesday appeared to partly blame the lack of Barcelona fans and the abundance of Eintracht Frankfurt fans at the Camp Nou for the Blaugrana’s 3-2 home defeat that saw them exit the UEFA Europa League.

Speaking after his side’s loss, the 42-year-old told media, “The atmosphere has not helped us, it seemed like a final with divided fans. The club is checking what has happened, it has been a miscalculation on our part.”

“Today I was expecting a Camp Nou with 70,000 Barça fans, but it hasn’t been like that,” the Spaniard reiterated.

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He went on to criticise his own approach and his team’s performance, saying, “We haven’t known how to attack well, we haven’t played like in other games. It’s a very big disappointment.”

However, Xavi, known for his professionalism, was quick to acknowledge that Frankfurt were the better side on the night.

“I would like to congratulate Eintracht Frankfurt because they deserved it,” the 42-year-old said of the German side, which raced to a 3-0 lead before Barcelona managed to pull two goals back through Sergio Busquets and Memphis Depay deep into the nine minutes of added time at the end of the game.

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“The goal for the remainder of the season is to qualify for the Champions League,” the Barcelona manager said at the end of the interview.

Indeed, Barcelona have no remaining trophies to play for: having been knocked out of the Champions League and the Europa League, and having exited both the Supercopa de España and Copa del Rey, a Champions League-spot finish is the most the Blaugrana can achieve this season.

Barcelona currently sit second on the La Liga table, with a game in hand over leaders and arch rivals Real Madrid, but Los Blancos’ 12-point lead means that Xavi’s men are unlikely to catch up this season.