Lenglet slammed by Barcelona fans for full-time laugh with Lewandowski

Barcelona have failed to reach the last 16 of the Champions League for the first time in 21 years, and supporters of the Catalan club have hit out at defender Clement Lenglet for his actions after their elimination.

Xavi's team lost 3-0 at Bayern Munich to end the group stage with just seven points from six games, with Benfica leapfrogging them with a victory over Dynamo Kiev.

Former Sevilla man Lenglet played the full 90 minutes at centre-back, going up against Bayern top scorer Robert Lewandowski.

While Barcelona kept the Poland striker off the scoresheet, goals from Thomas Muller, Leroy Sane and Jamal Musiala saw them eliminated.

And amid the frustrations with the result, Lenglet was singled out for particular praise for his reaction.

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Lenglet was left on the bench for Barcelona's first two Champions League group games under Ronald Koeman, but has returned to the fold since Xavi took over as manager.

However, Barca were powerless to keep out a Bayern side who won all of their group games, and have dropped into the Europa League as a result.

After the game, photos emerged of Lenglet and Lewandowski laughing together on the Allianz Arena pitch, and it did not go down well with supporters.

Supporters did not feel it was an appropriate time for jokes, with one account tweeting "I understand Lewandowski smiling. After all Lenglet was one out of two players just watching as Muller scored from his cross. Why is Lenglet smiling though? OUT."

"He's lucky I am not the Barcelona president because he'd not get on the plane back with the team, and tomorrow, I'd terminate his contract," was the verdict from another.

Lenglet felt compelled to respond to the criticism, explaining in an Instagram post that the laughter was "about something that had just happened at that moment".

"It is a specific reaction that in no way reflects my feeling for the result," the 26-year-old said.

"My values are unquestionable and anyone who knows me knows my commitment and my love for my profession, for Barca and especially for its fans."

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Barcelona's elimination represented the first time they have failed to make it out of the group stage since the 2000-01 season, when they finished behind AC Milan and Leeds United.

Xavi's side will drop down to the Europa League, where they face a match against one of the group runners-up in February. The draw for those matches takes place on Monday.

When Barcelona suffered an early Champions League exit in November 2000, they made it all the way to the semi-finals of what was then still known as the Uefa Cup, losing on aggregate to eventual champions Liverpool.