Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez was left to rue his team's "many mistakes" after the Catalan giants were stunned by Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League quarter-finals on Thursday.
Entering the second leg at Camp Nou having secured a 1-1 draw in Frankfurt last week, Barca were widely expected to complete the job at home and book their place in the last four. But Frankfurt, inspired by a travelling support of around 20,000 fans, outplayed the hosts, with Filip Kostic scoring twice, the first an early penalty, either side of a stunning long-range strike by Rafael Santos Borre.
Sergio Busquets pulled one back for Barcelona in the 91st minute and then Memphis Depay scored a penalty in the 11th minute of injury time as the hosts attempted a late comeback. But it was too little too late as Frankfurt sealed a momentous 4-3 aggregate win and will now face West Ham after the Premier League side cruised past Lyon.
“This is a very big disappointment, a real shame because we wanted to win this competition but we have to congratulate Eintracht, they deserved to advance to the semis and we didn’t do well," Xavi said. "We didn’t play like we have recently, that is why we’re out.
“We tried, but our problem was the football. We had possession but we didn’t take advantage of it, our mistake. It was a fateful night. We made many mistakes, their second goal comes from a turnover, the penalty was an error, and in the third goal we are pressing one side of the pitch and allow them to move to the other. It was something we talked about and cannot happen. We have to be self-critical, we didn’t do well and that’s why we’re out."
Given Barcelona's recent excellent form, it made the shock of defeat and poor performance all the more surprising. Barca entered the game on a 15-match unbeaten run, including an emphatic 4-0 victory at arch rivals Real Madrid, and have surged to second in La Liga.
Barcelona player ratings v Eintracht Frankfurt
Xavi has called on his players to shrug off the defeat and turn their focus to league duties as Barcelona aim to keep alive their slim title hopes. More likely, the Catalans will look to solidify their top four hopes until the end of the season.
“Now we have to recover the players and continue to compete. We play Cadiz on Monday, the league is what’s left and we have to keep going," he said. "We cannot move away from the path we were on, we have to believe in what we’re doing.
"We have played great games, but losses are also part of football. If this is a failure, and I don’t want to use that word, we will learn more from our mistakes. This loss must make us believe in our ideas more, it’s a matter of time and patience.”
Xavi also said that he would be speaking to the club about how Frankfurt were allowed to have so many supporters inside the Camp Nou.
"Obviously it didn't help us," he said. "It was like a final, the fans evenly divided. The club is checking what happened but it was an error on our part."
Unsurprisingly, Frankfurt manager Oliver Glasner was full of praise for his players, saying: "What we have experienced today no money can buy. These emotions will last forever."
HAJJAN
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hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The biog
Name: Mariam Ketait
Emirate: Dubai
Hobbies: I enjoy travelling, experiencing new things, painting, reading, flying, and the French language
Favourite quote: "Be the change you wish to see" - unknown
Favourite activity: Connecting with different cultures
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Dr Amal Khalid Alias revealed a recent case of a woman with daughters, who specifically wanted a boy.
A semen analysis of the father showed abnormal sperm so the couple required IVF.
Out of 21 eggs collected, six were unused leaving 15 suitable for IVF.
A specific procedure was used, called intracytoplasmic sperm injection where a single sperm cell is inserted into the egg.
On day three of the process, 14 embryos were biopsied for gender selection.
The next day, a pre-implantation genetic report revealed four normal male embryos, three female and seven abnormal samples.
Day five of the treatment saw two male embryos transferred to the patient.
The woman recorded a positive pregnancy test two weeks later.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Global Fungi Facts
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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ALRAWABI%20SCHOOL%20FOR%20GIRLS
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
AWARDS
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UFC Fight Night 2
1am – Early prelims
2am – Prelims
4am-7am – Main card
7:30am-9am – press cons
