Bayern Munich Defeat Shows FC Barcelona Still Some Way From Champions League Elite (VIDEO)

FC Barcelona failed to make history on Tuesday night by losing 2-0 to Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

The Catalans had never beaten the Bavarians on their home patch in Europe’s elite club competition, but appeared as though they were on their way to rectifying this with an explosive first half.

There were chances a plenty for the likes of Robert Lewandowski and Pedri. But in a thrilling end-to-end battle of continental heavyweights, Barca failed to put their opponent away when they had them on the ropes.

Their Bundesliga foes soaked up the punches, and then fired back with a pair of knockdowns in the second half before cruising to a unanimous decision win on points.

Barca’s first loss of the season in any format shows that for all the noticeable improvements on head coach Xavi Hernandez’s watch and the impact of new signings, the Blaugrana are still some way off challenging the elite.

“When you let teams off the hook in the Champions League, against sides of this level, you end up paying,” Xavi lamented to Spanish broadcaster Movistar post-match.

“We were better. We had six or seven really clear chances but Bayern are not so forgiving.”

“But we will take the positives and even though it was a negative result we can learn from the errors,” he vowed.

“It’s a step back. We did enough to draw if not win, a defeat is not deserved, but we made mistakes in the two boxes.”

Xavi is right in that Barca must focuses on the positives. In the opening 45 minutes, they took the game to Bayern like few are able to at this height, and better finishing might have changed headlines altogether.

Still aged just 19 and 18 respectively, Pedri and Gavi again showed that they have the quality to compete against the world’s best and that hostile atmospheres are unable to shake them off their game.

But until Barca start killing opponents off when they have the chance and become more streetwise, the wait for a first UCL title in what by next June will be eight years will only continue.