Manchester United have drawn Barcelona in the Europa League in another huge European tie, and Xavi Hernandes has already reacted to the news.
Barcelona crashed out of the Champions League after failing to beat Inter over their two matches in the group stage, while Bayern Munich were group winners. This made the La Liga giants the biggest club dropping into the Europa League – so it was always going to be the case that we would get them in the play-off draw.
They were the first two names out of the draw and Xavi feels they got the most difficult tie, too, so the feeling is mutual on both sides.
“It is the most difficult opponent once again, Xavi said, as quoted by Samuel Marsden. “But we will look forward to it. They are a historic side, they have grown a lot with the arrival of Ten Hag, they have great players. It’s the worst draw we could have got. Once again. No luck.”
The last meeting between the two sides came in 2019 when an Ole Gunnar Solskjaer led side beat Barcelona 4-0 on aggregate in the Champions League quarter-finals.
Xavi, however, will remember the two occasions he was victorious in Champions League finals against United in 2009 and 2011.
Barcelona have never won the Europa League before and Xavi will be looking to change that this season, especially after coming up short in the Champions League.
Let us know in the comments section how you feel about the draw.