Barcelona manager Xavi Hernández admitted that the pain of being knocked out of the Champions League is still very raw.
The Spanish giants face Napoli in the Europa League round-of-32 first leg at Camp Nou on Thursday, taking part in the second-tier competition for the first time since 2004.
Their Champions league dream was brutally ended in the knockout stage when they finished third in their group behind Bayern Munich and Benfica, scoring just two goals in six matches.
“The [Europa League] is an opportunity for us,” Xavi said on Wednesday. “Our main aim is to get back in the Champions League next season and there are two ways to do that: Finish in the top four in La Liga or win the Europa League.
“Of course we would like to be in the Champions League. It hurts that we're not there. Hearing the Champions League music on television [on Tuesday] made me angry.
“But we're in another competition. It is still a European competition. We're not talking about the third division. It is a chance to keep growing and everyone is motivated to win a trophy that the club has never won before.”
Xavi took over as manager in November, replacing the sacked Ronald Koeman, and has had to deal with huge financial restraints with the club stating recently that €159 million ($179m) has been cut from their wage bill due to the crisis caused by the previous board's reckless spending.
Barcelona player ratings in 2-2 draw with Espanyol
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Marc-Andre ter Stegen – 6. A Quiet first half until Darder’s outstanding equaliser flew past him. Could do little about the second in an intense derby with nine yellow cards, two of them red. Reuters -
Jordi Alba – 7. Crossed for Pedri after a minute and the Canarian did the rest. Got two more crosses to his teammates in the first half from the left side. Made a key clearance. AFP -
Gerard Pique – 6. Jeered by home fans whenever he touched the ball. Got a yellow card for a foul on Puado – who got one himself a few minutes later for a clash with Pique. Then Pique saw red, and a red card after multiple clashes with Nico Melamed, who was also sent off. Reuters -
Ronald Araujo – 6. Stormed into challenges in an aggressive first half. He didn’t see the second, which was even more intense with 25,000 fans sounding a lot louder than their numbers. EPA -
Sergino Dest – 7. Played the full 90 and needed to shift from a four-man defence to a three, which he did fine in an entertaining game. Reuters -
Frenkie de Jong – 5. A poor first half when he was dispossessed several times. He was offside to rule out what Barça thought was their second goal from Gavi. AP Photo -
Sergio Busquets – 6. Won the ball back which led to the early goal. Had to be up for the physical side of the game as Espanyol set about him. Brought off after an hour, yet still saw more of the ball than any other. Caught ball watching for Espanyol’s second though. Reuters -
Pedri – 7. Put his side ahead after one minute, getting around the back of the defenders to side foot in an Alba cross. Tried to get his foot across to stop Darder’s equaliser, but that foot touched the ball and helped it beat Ter Stegen. Lovely flicks. Reuters -
Ferran Torres – 6. Angered Espanyol players by kicking the ball away early on. Had two headers close to the goal at the end of the first half. AP -
Adama Traore – 8. Barca tried to use his speed to get behind Espanyol’s defenders. Booked for throwing the excellent De Tomas to the ground on 76 minutes. Barça’s main threat, but his crosses often went too high – fortunately Luuk de Jong was big enough to head the 96th minute equaliser. Getty Images -
Gavi – 8. Up for the battle against former Barça player Aleix Vidal. Thought he’d made it 2-1 after 55 minutes, winning the ball ahead of Vidal before kissing the badge in front of the furious Espanyol fans. Getty Images -
SUB: Eric Garcia – 4 (on for Araujo at half time). Didn’t seem to realise that Raul de Tomas was waiting behind him, ready to take the ball and score Espanyol’s second. Booked on 76 minutes as several Barcelona players struggled to keep their cool. AP -
SUB: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 5 (on for De Jong after 62’). Managed only five touches and no shots. AP -
SUB: Nico – 6 (on for Gavi after 71’). Carried a piece of paper for his teammates to read in a tactical shift. That meant Barça shifting to three defenders, but it didn’t work. One of three visiting players to be booked in the last 15 minutes. Reuters -
SUB: Ousmane Dembele - 5 (on for Alba on 71’). Barcelona went for an equaliser. At least he couldn’t be booed by his own fans like last week, since there are no Barcelona fans allowed to attend games at Espanyol. Hit crosses to Espanyol’s central defenders. Getty Images -
SUB: Luuk de Jong - 8 (on for Pedri on 81’). Mthree shots. Superb header in the 96th minute to make it 2-2 and quell Espanyol fans who thought they were about to win a first derby since 2009 and a first ever at Espanyol’s new stadium. Reuters
Barca have climbed from ninth to fourth in La Liga since Xavi's arrival, which has just reached the 100 day mark. “100 days? Sometimes it feels like 100 years because we’ve been through unexpected situations,” he admitted.
“We’ve managed them and what I want is for Barca to be where they should be again. We have to push forward, even if it’s not the best moment in the club’s history.
“It looks like 100 years with the injuries and conditions that have befallen us. But we have improved, we are competing, as shown in the league. Things have to be improved but the league is the one that tells you if you are on the right track and I think we are growing and we are positive.”
Barca last took on Napoli in the last-16 of the Champions League two years ago with the Catalans progressing 4-2 on aggregate when the now departed Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez were among the scorers in a 3-1 win at Camp Nou in the second leg.
Xavi, whose team drew 2-2 with Espanyol in La Liga at the weekend, said the fact they now face the Serie A title-chasers in the Europa League shows the strength of the competition.
“We were unlucky with the draw,” he said. “Napoli are a Champions League-level side. It is going to be a difficult tie. I would not say we're favourites.
“It is an open draw. Napoli are one of the toughest teams in the competition and we have to play the second leg away from home next week. There are other teams, like Sevilla, in this competition with a lot of experience. We're candidates, but I would not say favourites.”
