Lionel Messi sat in Camp Nou on Tuesday evening cutting a rather forlorn figure as his Barcelona stuttered to a 1-1 draw with Eibar as pointed out by Diario Sport.
Martin Braithwaite missed an early penalty that would have send the Catalans into the lead and the team looked, for the most part, rather like a blunt knife. Eibar were good value for the point, their first ever at the biggest stadium in European football.
The image at the end of the game, of Messi leaving his seat and shaking his head in disappointment at the result and, you’d imagine, the general malaise surrounding his club, went viral.
Messi, suffering from a knee complaint, missed the game having returned late from his Christmas holidays in Rosario, Argentina, with his wife Antonella and their three children.
He landed in Catalonia following a 12-hour flight and, after settling at home in Castelldefels, went directly to Camp Nou.
Tired from the trip and dispirited by what he saw on the pitch, it’s no surprise Messi was so disenchanted. The draw leaves Barcelona seven points behind Atletico Madrid in the standings and in sixth place. Should Los Colchoneros beat Getafe tonight they’ll pull ten points clear heading into the new year.