Barcelona’s European reset

Barcelona’s Champions League exit has pushed the club into a fast reset, with LaLiga now the immediate target and selection issues already surfacing. (uefa.com) Barcelona went out in the quarter-finals after losing 2-0 at home to Atlético de Madrid on April 8 and winning 2-1 away on April 14, a comeback that still left them beaten 3-2 on aggregate. (uefa.com) The team returned to training on April 18 before a home league match against Celta de Vigo on Wednesday, April 22 at 9:30 p.m. Central European Summer Time. Fermín López worked in the gym after a facial injury that required stitches, and Marc Bernal remained out as he recovers from an ankle sprain. (sports.yahoo.com) Barcelona’s official schedule lists Celta on April 22, Getafe on April 25, Osasuna on May 2 and Real Madrid on May 10, turning the final stretch of the season into a domestic run after Europe ended in mid-April. (fcbarcelona.com) The elimination also reopened a debate about how Barcelona play in knockout ties. Toni Kroos said that if Barcelona do not change their style, “they are not going to win a Champions League,” comments published on April 17 after the quarter-final exit. (elespectador.com) That criticism landed on a club that has now gone 11 years without winning Europe’s top competition, according to El Espectador’s report on Kroos’s remarks. Barcelona’s own website, meanwhile, framed the run-in with the line “Seven finals to go.” (elespectador.com; fcbarcelona.com) UEFA’s match page carried Hansi Flick’s reaction after the second leg, with the coach saying, “That’s just how football is” and adding that his team “gave it their all” in mentality and attitude. Barcelona also posted “We’ll be back” after the defeat in Madrid. (uefa.com; fcbarcelona.com) The reset is now concrete: Europe is over, the league calendar is crowded, and Barcelona’s next answer has to come on April 22 against Celta, not in a semi-final. (fcbarcelona.com; uefa.com)