Barcelona skipper Lionel Messi was in no mood for excuses on his side’s poor end to the season, as a 2-1 defeat at home Osasuna ended their title challenge.
Real Madrid’s win against Villarreal was a double blow for La Blaugrana, as their inconsistent recent form ensured there would be no final day title showdown.
Messi was visibly frustrated at full time at the Camp Nou, and he offered a firm assessment of what is needed in the coming weeks.
“If we continue like this, we will lose against Napoli (in the Champions League), he told a post match interview with El Chiringuito.
🔴🎙MESSI: “Ya dije que si seguíamos así no nos daba para la Champions y no nos ha dado ni para La Liga”.
🚨 0:03 #ElChiringuitoDeMega 🚨 pic.twitter.com/ZPJzSe2eBr
— El Chiringuito TV (@elchiringuitotv) July 16, 2020
“I have said many times that if we play like this we will not win La Liga, and that is the case in the Champions League.
“We did not expect to end the season this way, but it has been the case for the whole season. We have lost too many points because we have been weak and inconsistent at important times.
“We are angry and the fans are angry, because we are not giving them anything, and they are running out of patience.
“We must be self critical, both the players and the club. We have time now before the Champions League restarts, and we must recover and make changes.”
Messi’s criticism comes no surprise to Barcelona fans, following a series of high profile defeats in the last 12 months, against Liverpool, Valencia, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid.
Quique Setien’s side have drawn three and lost one of their ten La Liga games following the restart of the campaign, in comparison, Real Madrid overhauled their two point lead, with ten successive wins.
Barcelona now face a Champions League last 16 second leg tie at home to Napoli, following a 1-1 draw in Naples in February.
If the Catalans qualify for their 13th consecutive quarter final, they will face with Bayern Munich or Chelsea.
