Barcelona boss Xavi said that his side 'do not deserve to play in the Champions League' following Wednesday's 3-3 draw with Inter Milan at San Siro.
The Catalan outfit entered the match knowing that they needed to beat the Italian giants to stand a realistic chance of reaching the last-16 stage of the competition.
Barcelona led 1-0 on the night before trailing 2-1 and then 3-2 late on, but Robert Lewandowski came up with his second in the 92nd minute to ensure that the home side would secure a point.
Mathematically, the La Liga side can still qualify for the last-16 stage of the European Cup, but they are three points behind second-placed Inter Milan, who would secure their spot in the knockout round with a victory over Viktoria Plzen at home on October 26.
Xavi's side have now picked up just one point from their last three Group C matches, and the head coach admitted after Wednesday's game that his team do not deserve to progress.
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"I'm very disappointed, sad, frustrated... I'm angry. I have to be self-critical, we don't deserve to play in the Champions League. It hurts me, but it's the truth," he told reporters.
"Today the match was under control and in the 50th minute there was a clear defensive mistake, you go back to the draw and you have to start again with what it had cost you, mentally it's hard for us.
"Let's hope that today's game doesn't affect us for El Clasico in terms of mentality, the players have given their all today. The goal for this season is still the same, to win trophies.
"I apologise to the fans because we made the mistakes, we had set our minds not to fail, and we have failed, so we have to apologise to the fans, who have been wonderful. I want to tell them that we will work to turn this situation around and win titles.
"It's no excuse for today (Inter's supposed time wasting). We didn't draw because of that, we drew because of our mistakes because the game was in our hands."
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Xavi also said that he has "a lot of confidence" in Ousmane Dembele, who scored the first goal against Inter, but admitted that the Frenchman can sometimes make the wrong choice at the vital moment.
"Dembele can make a difference, he is a player who can make a difference, he gives us a lot on the wing and he is fast, I have a lot of confidence in him," the head coach added.
"Dembele often makes the wrong choice, but it's not just him. When we get to the final third we have to make better decisions, that's very difficult for Dembele."
Barcelona will be bidding to return to winning ways when they travel to Real Madrid in El Clasico on Sunday, with the Catalan side currently top of La Liga, albeit level on points (22) with the reigning champions.
Matt Law
