Tragic end to the season costs Barca the chance of making history
When the Barcelona players landed in Rome for their second-leg tie against Roma at the Stadio Olimpico, all was well with the world. The Catalans had won the first leg 4-1 and were virtually assured a place in the semi-finals. On the domestic front, it was also plain sailing, with Barca only seven games away from going the whole league campaign unbeaten.
A bloodbath took place in Rome but it wasn’t the one anyone saw coming, as the Catalans were put to the sword by a Roma team that preyed on complacency. It was a battle that wouldn’t have looked out of place in the Colosseum as a renowned and feared gladiator was brought to its knees after underestimating the lesser opponent with a greater desire.
FULL-TIME: @ASRomaEN 3-0 (4-4 agg) @FCBarcelona
Roma go through on away goals.
Barcelona have been knocked out of the Champions League.
A disastrous evening for the La Liga leaders. pic.twitter.com/tuVeNFiDJW
— MARCA in English (@MARCAinENGLISH) April 10, 2018
What went on in Rome shocked the footballing world and left Barcelona stunned as they made their way back to the Nou Camp to take stock. Barca had been dumped out of the Champions League and it hurt, but now all the focus could go into remaining unbeaten in the league, as well as winning the Copa del Rey.
Winning the Copa del Rey was accomplished after beating Sevilla 5-0 and that went some way to lifting a traumatized team that had endured a turbulent week and a half. Remaining unbeaten in the league would provide the absolution the city needed and it all looked to be going according to plan until Barca arrived at Levante.
All the work that had gone into the previous 36 games was thrown away after a capitulation in the eastern region of the Iberian Peninsula, as Levante ran riot against a knackered Barcelona defence. At one stage, Granotas were 5-1 up and it looked like the Catalans had well and truly bottled it during the penultimate game but a spirited fightback saw Barca get the score back to 5-4 with 20 minutes to go. It wasn’t to be, despite a siege on the Levante goal, and in the 94th minute the referee brought the curtain down on Barcelona’s hopes of becoming The Invincibles and, by doing so, left the league champions stunned.
It was another tough night for the Barcelona fans as they were handed another unexpected dose of agony. The feeling of shell shock around the club had just started to subside but it became all too real again after the Levante nightmare. The dream of becoming the first Spanish side to be crowned The Invincibles had ended abruptly.
There wasn’t any time for mourning either as the players were hurried onto a plane bound for South Africa to play in a Wednesday night friendly, before making the trip back to finish the league campaign at home to Real Sociedad.
There would have been some reflection from a few on the flight to the rainbow nation on missed opportunities and how successful this season could have been. Messi wasn’t involved against Levante and many would part with more than just a penny for his thoughts at this stage after the implosion that cost him the chance to be remembered as an Invincible.
BARCELONA’S UNBEATEN RUN HAS COME TO AN END VS 15th PLACED LEVANTE!
Levante 5-4 Barcelona! pic.twitter.com/5F4Dr8tMzZ
— SPORTbible (@sportbible) May 13, 2018
The Argentine will be channelling his frustration into this summer’s World Cup, where he will want to make history. Argentina aren’t one of the favourites going into the tournament after a ropey qualifying campaign but at sportsbet.io they are 9/1 to win in Russia. Lifting the Fifa World Cup trophy will eliminate the last month’s woes with Barcelona from the memory for good.
It’s worth putting into context that the Catalans have had an extraordinarily successful season after claiming the double. Most teams in La Liga could only dream about winning the league and cup and yet Barca have done it at a canter. Breaking new ground and setting new records is in the DNA of a club like Barcelona and that’s why the disappointment needs to be put into perspective.
If anything, it is positive that there is a feeling of underachieving after all that they’ve done and that will only help add to the hunger for next season’s push for trophies.
They say that three out of ten accidents occur with the driver a mile from home and this is undoubtedly due to settling into a false sense of security with the end in sight. Barcelona proved that, stumbling at the final hurdle. They took the safety belt off and became complacent, with a tough road still to negotiate. Next season they will be eagle-eyed, attentive and watchful when seeing out the end of their journey.