Xavi has acknowledged that Barcelona 'were unable to compete' with Bayern Munich as they succumbed to a 3-0 defeat in the Champions League.

Barcelona went into the contest requiring a victory to progress through to the last 16, but losing at the Allianz Arena ultimately led to the Spanish giants finishing third behind Wednesday's opponents and Benfica.

The Catalan side will now play Europa League football after Christmas, a demotion that Xavi wants his players to use as a catalyst for an improved second half to the campaign.

Speaking to Spanish TV, Xavi said: "Today, Bayern were better than us, they were superior. We have tried; we have pressed high, taken the ball from them but our situation is the harsh reality that we have.

"Today is the start of a new chapter for us and we have to start demanding a lot more from ourselves, we must use this as a turning point to change many things. Today we did not compete with a top team and our reality is that we are a Europa League team.

"We are going to face this reality with all the dignity in the world and work to bring Barca back to where we deserve to be, which is not the Europa League. It really annoys me to face our reality, I am angry. Barca does not deserve this. There are many circumstances that have made us like this."

Barcelona also sit in seventh position in the La Liga table, 16 points adrift of leaders and rivals Real Madrid. body check tags ::