Barcelona entered Wednesday's match against Bayern Munich in search of a win, to help them advance to the Round of 16 in the Champions League once again. Instead, they find themselves heading somewhere they haven't been in almost 20 years.
Barcelona will play Europa League football for the first time since it was the UEFA Cup in 2003-04 đ pic.twitter.com/93vUGRg98N
â B/R Football (@brfootball) December 8, 2021
Barcelona entered the match two points clear of Benfica for the 2nd spot in Group E of the 2021 Champions League. However, German super power Bayern Munich hammered Barcelona, 3-nil cruising to win the group. Benfica defeated Dynamo Kyiv to earn three points and vault past Barcelona, sending the Spanish side to the Europe League for the first time since 2003-2004 when it was called the UEFA Cup.
Bayern Munich got on the board in the 34th minute as long time German-great Thomas MĂŒller beat Barcelona keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen. In doing so, MĂŒller became only the 8th player ever to score 50 goals in Champions League play.
Thomas MĂŒller becomes just the 8th player in Champions League history to score 50+ goals đ#UCL pic.twitter.com/aTuEWvhs0i
â UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) December 8, 2021
Just before halftime, Munich broke the backs of the Spaniards as Leroy Sané doubled the German lead in the 43rd minute.
With Benfica's win, they were only one point ahead of Barcelona. A draw for the Spaniards however would do them no good, as Barcelona trailed Benfica by a wide margin in goal differential. That is the tie-breaker.
So FC Barcelona was going to need a miraculous comeback victory in the 2nd half. That did not happen. Bayern added a third goal in the 62nd minute when Jamal Musiala put one past ter Stegen, all but dashing Barcelona's hopes of advancing.
The club has been in turmoil for months and their play in La Liga has suffered. That has now dripped into Champions League as the once proud club is falling from grace.
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