"Xavi is an amateur," "Real Madrid carries Spain in Europe" - Twitter explodes as Barcelona slump to shock 1-0 loss against Shakhtar Donetsk
Barcelona faltered in their Champions League campaign, succumbing to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday, November 7. This unexpected turn of events threw Twitter into a frenzy, as users reacted to the Catalan giants' loss.
Shakhtar's match-winning goal came from the unlikeliest of sources, as Danylo Sikan propelled his team ahead with a 40th-minute header. The Ukrainian side had a young forward in Newerton, making his Champions League debut start. The youngster nearly added a second, only for his late effort to be ruled offside.
Barca's display, notably lacklustre for the first hour of play, marked a stark contrast to their otherwise strong performance in the season. Across all competitions this season, they have been bested only once, by their eternal rivals Real Madrid, in El Clasico.
Their prior encounter with Shakhtar offered a glimmer of hope, a 2-1 victory, but this recent clash revealed that past triumphs had no guarantees to offer.
The social media reaction was impassioned, as they slammed Barcelona for the loss. One fan blamed the result on the manager, stating:
"Xavi is an amateur"
Another fan claimed:
"Real Madrid carries Spain in Europe"
Here is a selection of their tweets:
Speaking about the match afterwards in his press conference, Xavi said (via Barca Blaugranes):
“We haven’t played a good game. Nothing has gone as planned. We wanted to confirm the classification but it is a clear step backwards. The Champions League demands the highest level but we have not found it. We are angry. We could not fail and we have failed. It’s a big mistake on our part.”
Barcelona fail to secure qualification to the knockout stages with ease
Barcelona notably squandered the opportunity to seal their progression to the knockout stages with matches to spare. As the final whistle rang, the result extinguished their flawless run in the Champions League thus far.
The Catalan giants, who have been ousted at the group stage in the past two seasons, found themselves stymied by a determined Shakhtar side. The Ukrainian outfit played their 'home' match in Germany due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. They have now carved open a path to potentially advance from Group H.
The group's dynamics have grown tenser with Barcelona still at the top of the group with nine points. However, they will be feeling the heat from Shakhtar and Porto, both hovering close behind.
Despite being group-stage regulars, Shakhtar's recent European campaigns have been underwhelming, failing to progress beyond this phase in the last five attempts.