Barcelona fans chant ‘Lionel Messi’ during embarrassing Champions League group stage defeat against Bayern Munich
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On Wednesday night, Barcelona supporters chanted for former star Lionel Messi as they saw their team once again lose in the group stage of the Champions League. After Inter’s four-goal victory over Viktoria Plzen earlier on Wednesday, Xavi Hernandez’s Barca were eliminated from Europe’s premier competition at the first hurdle for the second consecutive season. This was despite a full round of group-stage matches remaining.
Last year, Messi left Barcelona and signed a two-year deal with Paris Saint-Germain. Due to La Liga’s stringent Financial Fair Play compliance regulations, the Catalan giants were unable to sign the Argentine superstar to a new contract, which led to the surprise move. This summer will mark the end of his PSG deal.
With 11 goals in all competitions so far this season, the Argentine star has been on fire in front of goal for Les Parisiens. Considering that he seems to have found his best form in Paris, he has already equaled his total from first season in the French capital.
Prior to the start of the previous season, he left Camp Nou and the team went without a title. They were eliminated from the Copa del Rey in the quarterfinals, crashed out of the Champions League in the group stages, and ended far behind Real Madrid in La Liga.
With the knowledge that their team had already been eliminated, the Catalan club played Bayern Munich in front of 84,000 spectators on Wednesday. As Bayern stormed out to an early two-goal lead courtesy to goals from Sadio Mane and Erick Choupo-Moting, the Catalans’ fans chanted Messi’s name.
Expectations were high after Barcelona’s significant summer spending
Expectations at the club were raised significantly this season as a result of numerous high-profile additions. Building on a hectic January that saw Ferran Torres join the team, a plethora of new players arrived, including Robert Lewandowski, Jules Kounde, Raphinha, Marcos Alonso, Franck Kessie, and Andreas Christensen.
Barca had budgeted for their Champions League campaign to advance to the round of 16, but the reality has them once again falling short of that goal. Inter and Bayern Munich have both advanced from the group, leaving Barca to once again play in the Europa League.
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Sujeeth Shetty
(766 Articles Published)