Alex Al-Kazzaz
For the first time since the 2013-14 UEFA Champions League, Juventus is not advancing to the tournament's knockout stage. As for Barcelona, they will not be advancing to the knockout stage for the second consecutive year, and they've once again been relegated to the UEFA Europa League. Juventus still has a chance to secure a spot in the Europa League which will be decided next week. Relegation to the Europa League is a bad image for clubs considering their terrible results in the Champions League group stage.
Juventus' 4-3 loss to Benfica is what sealed their fate. Barcelona was ruled out of contention before their 3-0 loss at home to Bayern Munich after Inter Milan picked up a large win against Viktoria Plzen. Next week Juventus will host Paris Saint-Germain while Barcelona will visit Viktoria Plzen. In Juventus' case, all they need is for Benfica to defeat Maccabi Haifa that way Juventus can maintain a goal differential by a landslide. Because Paris Saint-Germain is looking to top the group, they need a resounding win against Juventus, so it's clear that PSG will not be resting their starts, meaning Juventus will once again be put to work.
Juventus currently sits with one win and four losses in the Champions League play. After losing their first two matches, a 3-1 at home against Maccabi Haifa seemed to be a sign of a turnaround, but after a 2-0 loss to Maccabi Haifa on the road, Juventus couldn't be taken seriously anymore. In addition, in Serie A play, Juventus is not doing good. They're sitting in eighth in the Serie A standings with five wins, four draws, and two losses. Last season, they went without winning a title for the first time since the 2010-11 season. This season isn't looking good either.
Barcelona is currently second in the La Liga standings. They trail their longtime historic archrivals Real Madrid by three points. However, their Champions League run this season tells the story; one win, one draw, and three losses. That includes THREE shutout losses with a negative 2-goal differential; scoring eight goals and conceding ten.
The results that both Juventus and Barcelona amassed prove that both teams are clearly unfit to compete in the Champions League knockout stage. But at this point, they ought to consider themselves lucky to still be eligible for competition in the Europa League.
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