Barcelona were knocked out of the Champions League before kicking a ball on Wednesday as Inter Milan’s 4-0 win over Plzen left them with only a Europa League place.
Ex-Premier League players Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Edin Dzeko scored first-half goals to set Inter on their way at the San Siro, before former Man City man Dzeko struck again in the second half. Romelu Lukaku rounded off the victory late on, meaning Barcelona can only finish third in Group C.
It’s the second straight season Barcelona, who host Bayern at the Nou Camp also on Wednesday, have exited the Champions League at the group stage, having gone 17 straight seasons making the knockout stages.
A lively opening yielded early chances for Inter but they were thwarted by Plzen goalkeeper Jindrich Stanek who pulled off a superb double save in the 25th minute before Mkhitaryan put the hosts ahead 10 minutes later.
The former Roma midfielder turned in Alessandro Bastoni’s looping cross and veteran Dzeko then put Inter in total command when he tapped home after Federico Dimarco had latched on to Nicolo Barella’s excellent crossfield pass.
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