Spanish papers SLAM ‘fragile’ Barcelona after disappointing 3-2 defeat against Royal Antwerp and insist that ‘enough is enough’ as pressure begins to mount on Xavi

• Barcelona fell to a disappointing 3-2 defeat to Antwerp on Wednesday night 
• Spanish papers were quick to pile the pressure on Xavi after the loss 
• CHRIS SUTTON: I was RIGHT to call Man United players ‘snakes’ last week 

Spanish papers ripped into Barcelona after their disappointing 3-2 defeat to Royal Antwerp on Wednesday night. 

The Catalan giants were dealt their second loss on the bounce after Arthur Vermeeren, Vincent Janssen and George Ilenikhena struck for the Belgian side. 

Despite the defeat, Xavi’s side still managed to finish top of their Champions League group and, thus, will be seeded for the upcoming Round of 16 draw on Monday. 

However, after falling to a 4-2 defeat against Girona on Sunday, pressure is beginning to grow on the Barca boss – which was reflected in Thursday’s front pages.

Mundo Deportivo, for example, ran the headline ‘No Forgiveness!’ before labelling the LaLiga champions as ‘fragile’. 

Barcelona fell to a disappointing 3-2 defeat to Royal Antwerp on Wednesday evening

Spanish outlets lambasted the Catalan giants and their underwhelming performance 

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‘A disappointing Barca also loses to the bottom team but will be seeded in the round of 16 draw 

‘The fragility and serious errors in defence leave Xavi’s team affected and without the €2.8million bonus’.

As per UEFA rules, each team gets £2.4million (€2.8m) per win in the Champions League group stage. 

Major outlet SPORT had a similar tone to their front page, as they claimed that ‘Enough Is Enough’.

They continued: ‘Barca once again became a team without soul and was shipwrecked against Antwerp, who added their first points in the Champions League

‘The Barca team is lost, it is sailing aimlessly and Xavi cannot find solutions to stop the plummet’.

Their defeat in the Champions League only compounds the underwhelming start that Barca have made to the 2023-24 campaign. 

Xavi’s side currently sit fourth in the table and are already seven points behind league leaders Girona. 

Pressure is growing on Barcelona manager Xavi after their disappointing results

Antwerp stunned their home crowd to pick up their first win of the group stage

Another outlet, AS, had the headline ‘A Barca in Destruction!’.

‘The blue team also fell in Antwerp against the bottom of the group, although it finished first. Xavi took out the ‘recalled’ Lewandowski and Gundogan’.

Initially, it was announced that Robert Lewandowski, Ilkay Gundogan and Ronald Araujo would not travel to Belgium, with a place in the knockout rounds already guaranteed.

But it was later revealed that all three were added to the travelling party – with rumours that president Laporta had insisted they be included.

‘It was decided that everyone would travel and whether Lewandowski plays is up to the coach,’ Deco said. ‘The calls are up to the coach, but nothing has been agreed upon with him.’

MARCA, however, opted to focus on Real Madrid’s rising star Jude Bellingham and his ambitions to match the legacy of Zinedine Zidane. 

Their only mention of Barcelona, on the front-page, read: ‘Barca collapses in Antwerp’.

Barcelona still managed to progress top of the group, despite the disappointing result

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After the game, Xavi admitted he was ‘worried’ by the team’s poor form, saying the whole squad had to be ‘critical’ of themselves.

‘Yes, I’m worried,’ he said. ‘It is normal.’

‘The team isn’t feeling comfortable. We have had a bad streak of negative results. We have to be critical. The opposition is generating a lot [of chances against] us and it is costing us too much. The positive point is that we are in the round of 16.

‘On Monday we will be in the draw and top of the group, so we have to congratulate the team, who have done their homework. However, we need to get back to [playing] good football.’

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