Izuchukwu Okosi
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Barcelona failed to reach the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League for the first time in 18 years Wednesday night as they fell to a 3-0 defeat against new nemesis Bayern Munich.
The memory of Barcelona crashing out of the competition will linger for a very long time as goals from Thomas Mueller and Leroy Sane gave Bayern a 2-0 half-time cushion in falling snow at the Allianz Arena.
There were no spectators to behold the shame of the Blaugrana due to high numbers of Covid-19 cases in Bavaria.
Teenager Jamal Musiala grabbed Bayern’s third in the second half to seal Barcelona’s fate.
Bayern, who also beat Barca 3-0 at the Camp Nou when the sides met last September, had already qualified for the knock-out stages as Group E winners.
They now join Liverpool and Ajax with a perfect six victories from six games in the group stage.
However, for the first time since the 2003/04 season, Barcelona will not be in the draw for the last 16. The 2021/2022 round of 16 Champions League draw comes up next week Monday.
Benfica’s 2-0 win at home to Dynamo Kiev means Barcelona finish third and drop to the Europa League.
