- The La Liga title is now out of reach and a there is deep sense of frustration within Barcelona and among fans at how this season has gone, with an overriding sense that they have thrown it away.
The Barca’s recent grip on the La Liga title has come to an end as Real Madrid’s relentless run of victories ends their hopes for the third consecutive title. As it stands now, they only need two points from two games to lift the trophy.
“If we have lost the league it’s because we let it slip away,” Barca striker Luis Suarez said.
Barca woes first started after the re-start by drawing 0-0 at Sevilla while the campaign truly unraveled in a 2-2 draw with relegation-fighting Celta Vigo. They also drew 2-2 with Atletico Madrid next.
“We lost a huge opportunity as if we’d have beaten Celta things would have gone better against Atletico. The real blow was in Vigo, that last-minute goal by (Iago) Aspas. That hurt a lot,” the former Liverpool strike added.
With the results and situation at Camp Nuo, it is likely to see Barca end the season with no domestic silverware for the first time since the 2007-08 season.
It looks like sacking Ernesto Valverde in January was a big mistake and successor Quique Setien’s commitment to attacking football sounded appealing to purists, although the transition has not gone well.
Setien has admitted to being out of his depth, ill-equipped to deal with the needs of Barca’s big-name players.
“I accept some responsibility but not all of it. These assessments always focus on the coach but I don’t feel I’ve done things too badly because we drew three games,” he said.
“I would give more credit to Madrid for winning every game.”
Meanwhile, in English Premier League, the top four races continue to hit as yesterday’s leister and Manchester united win spells danger for Chelsea.
The blues climb to 63 points after a win against on Wednesday but pressure has mount back as Leicester and Manchester United clinch 2 goals win on Thursday to sit just one point behind 3rd place, Chelsea.