FC Barcelona threw away a good share of their options to win the league title this year, after an unexpected defeat against Villareal at home. On Saturday Real Madrid had obtained a priceless victory against RCD Espanyol in Bernabeu Stadium, so the pressure was on the Catalan team. Quite inexplicably Barcelona did show a poor performance during great part of the game, which deserved the 1-2 final scored.
FC Barcelona noticed in excess the absence of Leonel Messi, and lost the fresh and electric level that had been showing in League and Champions League after the team got a draw against Athletic Bilbao in San Mames. The defeat against Atletico de Madrid the previous Saturday had been seen as an accident, but the reality is that the two points gap between Barsa and Real Madrid increased until five points. After the weekend, FC Barcelona are again eight points behind Real Madrid, a point less than before the crisis started in the White Team. The moral in the Catalan team seems quite fragile after this defeat, with President Laporta confirming that it has been a big hit in the aspirations of the team. He could not hide the disappointment that the defeat has meant for the club and said “The League is slipping away from our fingers”.
