Xavi urges Barcelona to "change focus" after Europa League defeat

The Catalans were not able to get past Man Utd in the Europa League playoffs.

Xavi Hernandez has urged his side to move on from their defeat against Manchester United in the Europa League.

The Catalans came into the second leg on the back of a fantastic run of results in La Liga. But a 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford ended their hopes of staying in the European competition.

Speaking ahead of his side’s return to La Liga, Xavi insisted his side shouldn’t fixate too much on the defeat as they still have trophies to fight for.

“I’ve read almost nothing or nothing. It doesn’t change anything,” Xavi told reporters.

“I think we played a great game and we have to live with the defeat. You saw a Barca with a very good image.

“We don’t think about criticism any more. You have to work to turn the tables on you.”

Barcelona have suffered back-to-back eliminations from the Champions League under Xavi.

This season, the Catalans finished behind Bayern Munich and Inter in Group C of the tournament. A relegation to Europa League saw Xavi’s men face United in the playoffs, where the Red Devils defeated them to reach the last-16 round.

“The biggest disappointment of the season was to fall out of the Champions League,” the Barcelona boss said. “This one hurts, but we have LaLiga and the Copa.

“For us, it is essential to finish the season well. We have to compete in LaLiga and the Copa. We have to keep winning titles.

“We can lose, but we have to keep competing. Yesterday the sun came out again.”