A enthralling 3-3 draw with Inter Milan on Wednesday night has left Barcelona clinging on to any hopes of progressing to the UEFA Champions League round of 16 this season.
Xavi’s side have won just one of their first four games in Group C to leave them in a precarious position to advance.
Barcelona were also knocked out in the Champions League group stages last season and will now rely on more than just their own results to avoid a similar fate this year.
The Spanish giants started the new campaign with a 5-1 win against Viktoria Plzen, but picking up just one point across two matches against Inter Milan looks set to prove costly.
MORE: Which clubs are through to the Champions League knockout stage?
Barcelona Champions League group standings
Group C
| Team | PTS | GP | W | L | D | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Bayern Munich | 12 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 2 | +11 |
| 2. Inter Milan | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 |
| 3. Barcelona | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 7 | +1 |
| 4. Viktoria Plzen | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 16 | -13 |
After four games and with just four points to show, Barcelona already cannot catch group leaders Bayern Munich.
Inter Milan remain within touching distance but Xavi’s side need to finish the group stage with more points than the Italians if they are to progress.
Current tiebreaker rules dictate that if two clubs finish with the same points, goal difference from the group matches the teams in question have played against each other will determine who advances.
In this case, Inter would advance having scored four goals to Barcelona’s three across their two games.
How can Barcelona qualify for Champions League knockout stage?
Beat Bayern Munich
To keep any hope of progressing in the Champions League this season alive, Barca must first beat Bayern Munich in their next match.
Xavi’s side will be playing this fixture at home on October 26, but have notably lost their last three matches against the German giants without scoring.
Their most recent match ended in a 2-0 Bayern win with their former player Robert Lewandowski failing to fire for Barca.
Anything other than a win for Barcelona in this next match against Bayern Munich would make it impossible for them to escape Group C.
Beat Viktoria Plzen
Should the Catalans pull off an impressive victory against Bayern, they’d then also need to beat Viktoria Plzen in their final group stage match.
Barcelona beat the Czech club 5-1 last time out and will require another win to keep their round of 16 hopes alive.
Goal difference is no longer important for Barcelona when it comes to either of these group games, with only the three points in each required.
Inter don’t win any of their remaining games
Unfortunately for Barcelona, even if they do win their final two group games, they’re reliant on Inter Milan not winning of theirs.
The Italians only need another three points to secure qualification to the knockout stages due to their superior head-to-head record against Barcelona.
Inter next face Viktoria Plzen where a victory would end Barcelona’s hopes of progressing – even if Xavi’s side managed to beat Bayern.
A loss or draw, however, would keep Barca alive and Inter would then need to beat Bayern themselves to guarantee a spot in the round of 16.
Once again, a loss or draw against the German club wouldn’t be enough for Inter to progress should Barcelona win both of their remaining group games.
The scenario which would see Barcelona progress
- Barcelona beat Bayern Munich
- Inter Milan fail to beat Viktoria Plzen
- Barcelona beat Viktoria Plzen
- Inter Milan fail to beat Bayern Munich
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