Barcelona and Manchester United will face off in the Europa League’s round of 16 clashes and the Blaugrana’s manager Xavi has expressed his displeasure with the fixture.
In the 2009 and 2011 Champions League finals, Spanish team Barcelona faced United twice and prevailed on both occasions, while United fell short in the two legs of their 2018-19 European Cup quarterfinal encounter. The Red Devils were unable to outplace Real Sociedad in the group table and therefore, had to face a club which has been eliminated from the Champions League this season.
And now, United will face Barca, a team that missed the final 16 of the Champions League after placing third in its group behind Bayern Munich and Inter Milan.
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As reported by Marca, Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez was asked about the fixture and he responded to the news with a wry smile.
He said:
“The draw has given us the most difficult tie, again. Manchester United are a great rival, the worst that we could face. We will have to compete very well, they have improved a lot since the arrival of Ten Hag, they are fifth in the table.”
After being placed in the “group of death,” the Blaugrana were eliminated from the Champions League after failing to defeat Inter in either of their two group-stage games. They now have to compete against the biggest and most resourceful club they could find in the Europa League play-off round.
Barcelona and Manchester United were the first two names drawn, and according to Xavi, the situation could not have been more challenging. The match between United and Barca should be exciting to watch, but it serves as a sobering reminder of how far these two once-great clubs have fallen.
They faced off against one another in two Champions League finals over a decade ago, but now they are vying to advance in the Europa League. Eight third-place teams from the Champions League group stages take against eight group runners-up from the Europa League, with the winners of the two-leg play-offs moving on to the round of 16.
The first leg will be played on February 16, while the second leg will be played on February 23.
