Barcelona were knocked out of the Champions League before kicking a ball on Wednesday as Inter Milan’s 4-0 win over Plzen left them with only a Europa League place.
Ex-Premier League players Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Edin Dzeko scored first-half goals to set Inter on their way at the San Siro, before former Man City man Dzeko struck again in the second half. Romelu Lukaku rounded off the victory late on, meaning Barcelona can only finish third in Group C.
It’s the second straight season Barcelona, have exited the Champions League at the group stage, having gone 17 straight seasons making the knockout stages.
Their elimination will likely prove costlier than last season as the team went on a spending spree to boost its squad in the hope of recovering some of that money with a deep run in the European competition.
The team coached by Xavi Hernández came up short again despite the addition of players such as Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Jules Koundé in the offseason.
It is the first time since 1999 that the Catalan club failed to advance to the knockout stage in consecutive years, coinciding with the departure of Lionel Messi to Paris Saint-Germain two seasons ago.
Last year, Barcelona endured its worst Champions League campaign in about two decades, finishing behind Bayern and Benfica in its group while going through a dire financial situation in the aftermath of Messi’s departure.
Playing at home against Bundesliga giants Bavarians,they lost 3-0 as first-half goals from Sadio Mane and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting saw Bavarians clinch top spot in Group C on 15 points with one game to play, while Inter Milan finished second.
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