Atletico Madrid 2-0 Barcelona: Carlo Ancelotti believes increased competition led to Catalans' failure to reclaim trophy

Former Chelsea anad Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti believes that Barcelona's failure to reclaim their Champions League crown is down to increased competition in the tournament, with more clubs having the resources to scout for top talent and build a squad capable of overthrowing the best in Europe. The Catalan club bowed out to La Liga rivals Atletico Madrid, who scored two goals and kept the deadly trio of Neymar, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez quiet to win the tie by a 3-2 aggregate.

Ancelotti has won the competition thrice, twice with AC Milan in 2003 and 2007 while his most recent triumph came with Real Madrid in 2014, with the Spanish club winning the tournament for the 10th time in history, acclaimed as "La Decima". Barcelona had won the treble on a canter last season and had come into the fixture making easy work of Arsenal, winning the tie 5-1 over both legs. However, despite being favourites, Atletico put in a brilliant defensive performance in the home leg to get one over their more celebrated Spanish rivals and end Barcelona's hopes of becoming the first team to ever win the Champions League two years in a row.

"I think it's difficult to win the Champions League because now the Champions League is more and more competitive compared to the past," he told Goal. "When we won it in 1989 and 1990 there were not a lot of games to reach the final and to win, and not a lot of teams.

"In the past, there was only one team for each country who could play in the Champions League and now there are three or four teams from each country. Because of this, it is more competitive and more difficult to win it."

Ancelotti adds that since the ties are two-legged, performing well in a certain instance does not suffice and that a lot of factors, including luck, injuries and other minute details come into the picture. The Italian will now look to win the tournament again with Bayern Munich, where he is set to take over from next season.

"It's not a [league] championship - it's two games, home and away, and if you're not in good condition for one you go out. For this, the little details, luck and injuries are really important; key aspects to consider when you reach the final part of the competition,"Ancelotti added.