Barcelona vs Bayern Munich: Muller reacts to 8-2 victory
Barcelona are likely to sack Eric Abidal after he attempted to defend Quique Setien in the aftermath of the club’s 8-2 Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich, reports say. The La Liga giants saw their hopes of European glory ended in ruthless fashion on Friday night. And Josep Maria Bartomeu is now primed to be ruthless, with the presidential elections on the horizon.
Barcelona went into the match against Bayern Munich as underdogs, despite being widely regarded as one of the best sides on the planet.
Yet they were ruthlessly dispatched by their Bundesliga counterparts, with Hans-Dieter Flick’s side putting in a brutal and emphatic performance in Portugal.
Barcelona scored twice through a David Alaba own-goal and Luis Suarez strike but were simply blown away, with Bayern running riot courtesy of goals from Thomas Muller (2), Philippe Coutinho (2), Serge Gnabry, Robert Lewandowski, Ivan Perisic and Joshua Kimmich.
Now, Setien is primed to be sacked with the spectre of Mauricio Pochettino lingering in the background.
And Catalan newspaper Sport claim Abidal is likely to follow.
The Barcelona director was a big advocate of Setien when he took charge in January, replacing the popular Ernesto Valverde.
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"It’s time for us to review and take the decisions which are needed for the future.
"I think that right now it’s too soon to be talking about whether I stay at the club or not.
"The reality is that it doesn't depend on me. It's worth all of us working out what's important and considering a wide range of things which correspond to a defeat of this importance and which is so painful."
Barcelona have now finished the season without a trophy for the first time since 2013/2014.
And they’ve now gone five years without the Champions League prize, with their last triumph coming back in 2015 when Luis Enrique ruled the roost.