UCL: Barcelona coach Xavi admits Barca 'lack maturity' despite lavish summer spending

Despite making some blockbuster signings over the summer such as that of Robert Lewandowski, La Liga giants Barcelona have had a relatively disappointing start to the season. While the Catalan giants have had a decent start to their domestic campaign, only losing to arch-rivals Real Madrid, the same cannot be said for Europe.

Xavi's side failed to qualify for the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League (UCL) for the second year in a row after finishing third in their group stage. Following what was another disappointing campaign in Europe as per their extremely high standards, the Spanish coach admitted that his side lack maturity.

Xavi comments on Barcelona's woes

While speaking to reporters ahead of the UEFA Champions League clash against Viktoria Plzen, Barcelona manager Xavi said, "We lack maturity. We have a lot of youngsters and we've had the worst Champions League group in years. We've had injuries. They're not excuses, but that has hurt us."

Despite being knocked out of the UCL, Xavi believes his side has improved, "With respect to last season, we have a better squad and we have given a better image in Europe. But we haven't been up to the task. We had the opportunity, and it has escaped us. There are details such as refereeing decisions and adverse situations, but you have to be self-critical," explained the Spaniard.

It is pertinent to note that Barcelona's woes in Europe continue despite activating three economic levers to raise close to a staggering €600 million to get the signings they wanted in the summer. With the La Liga heavyweights once again slipping back to the UEFA Europa League, Xavi has not ruled out more transfer activity in the January transfer window.

We have three games left and then a month and a half to plan the winter market. We'll sit down with the president and the sports management and see what we can sign and we're not ruling anything out," explained the Spanish coach. While it remains to be seen if Barcelona will make any more signings or not, they will want to end their season in Europe on a high with a win against Viktoria Plzen. The game will begin live at 1:30 AM IST on Wednesday, November 2.