24 February 2023 , 10:46
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Gerard Pique did not hold back in his assessment of Barcelona's Europa League exit at the hands of Manchester United, describing it as a "f****** mess".
United completed a dramatic comeback victory over the Catalan giants as they progressed through to the Round of 16. Goals from Fred and Antony after the break turned the tie around after Robert Lewandowski's penalty had given the Blaugrana the lead.
It was another fine night for United under their impressive boss Erik ten Hag and continues their momentum, just three days ahead of the Carabao Cup final against Newcastle as the club look to end their six-year trophy drought.
However, for Barcelona, this was the latest in an increasingly long line of underachievements in European football. Xavi Hernandez's side are eight points clear at the top of LaLiga but have been hugely underwhelming on the European stage this campaign.
They picked up just one point from four Champions League group stage matches against Inter and Bayern Munich, as they were eliminated from Europe's premier club competition at the first hurdle with a full round of matches remaining.
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That saw them drop into the Europa League and while they may have lamented another tough draw against the high-flying United, they once again failed to win in either of the two legs as Ten Hag’s side deservedly advanced through to the next stage.
Man United celebrated eliminating Barcelona in the Europa League (Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)Have Your Say! Were Man Utd deserving victors over Barcelona? Tell us what you think here.
Barca also suffered European heartache last season as they were eliminated at the Champions League group stages and despite progressing past Napoli and Galatasaray in the Europa League, they were deservedly beaten by Eintracht Frankfurt in the last eight.
Prior to that, the Catalan club suffered a humiliating 5-2 aggregate loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League Round of 16 in 2021 and the season prior to that, they were humbled 8-2 by Bayern Munich in the last eight. They haven’t reached a Champions League final since 2015.
Pique retired from playing earlier this season after 13 years in Barca’s first team, and was asked to comment on the side’s elimination to United – his other former club. "A f****** mess" is how the former defender described it on a live Twitch stream.
Barca now will fully focus on their domestic campaign as they seek to secure their first league title since 2019 while they also have the semi-final of the Copa del Rey against Real Madrid to come next month.