Barcelona saw their shot at the La Liga title all but ended this evening, in a shock stalemate with Levante.
Leon secures share of the spoils
Ronald Koeman’s men returned to action a short time ago.
The Blaugrana made the trip to the Estadi Ciutat de València, for a La Liga showdown with Levante.
The clash marked an absolutely crucial one for Barca, in the club’s efforts to keep their title challenge alive. A 0-0 stalemate with Atletico Madrid at the weekend meant that, ahead of kick-off, the Catalans sat in 3rd, two points adrift of Diego Simeone and co.
MADRID, SPAIN – APRIL 10: Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona looks on during the La Liga Santander match between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona at Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano on April 10, 2021 in Madrid, Spain. Sporting stadiums around Spain remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Diego Souto/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)
In turn, Barcelona were aware that a 3-point haul this evening would see them, temporarily at least, climb back to the La Liga summit.
When all was said and done in Valencia, however, the visitors collapsed, in altogether spectacular fashion.
Lionel Messi opened the game’s scoring with 25 minutes on the clock, courtesy of a well-placed volley:
Lionel Messi volleys Barca into the lead against Levante!
A perfectly controlled finish from the legend and an important goal in the title race pic.twitter.com/7OuFlTLujv
— Premier Sports (@PremierSportsTV) May 11, 2021
Pedri then added a 2nd shortly after the half-hour mark, slotting home from close range after some superb work down the right from Ousmane Dembele.
Just when it appeared as though a comfortable evening’s work was in store for the Catalans, however, Levante sprung into life.
Gonzalo Melero was first up, nodding home a fine delivery from the right early in the 2nd-half. And the hosts went on to level things up just two minutes later, when Lionel Messi’s poor touch was capitalised on in ruthless fashion by Jose Luis Morales:
El Commandante with an excellent equaliser for Levante!
Jose Luis Morales strikes and Barcelona have squandered a two-goal half time lead pic.twitter.com/RngPKvxJLx
— Premier Sports (@PremierSportsTV) May 11, 2021
Ousmane Dembele soon restored Barcelona’s advantage, drilling home a fine finish after Antoine Griezmann had been dispossessed. But, incredibly, the Catalans still couldn’t manage to see the clash out.
Inside the closing ten minutes, Tono’s ball across the face of goal was superbly directed home at Marc-André ter Stegen’s near post, by Sergio Leon:
Levante equalise AGAIN!
Sergio Leon’s goal could prove to be a fatal blow for Barca’s title hopes pic.twitter.com/HpswE8T3f7
— Premier Sports (@PremierSportsTV) May 11, 2021
And this proved all she wrote when it came to the goalscoring, as Barcelona’s title hopes essentially went up in smoke, with just two games remaining.
Koeman targeted
On the back of the action coming to a close on Tuesday, it has come as little surprise to see one individual in particular singled out for blame by the Blaugrana faithful.
The man in question? Ronald Koeman.
Dutch tactician Koeman has come under mounting pressure of late, amid his side’s struggles when it matters most.
Tonight, it was the Barca boss’ decision making which proved hugely questionable, as Koeman’s 2nd-half substitutions, namely introducing Sergi Roberto, proved extremely costly.
In turn, supporters of the Catalan giants have since made their feelings crystal clear, with some of the social media highlights showcased below:
Barcelona bottling another chance to go top of the league…..
Can only say, thanks Koeman for these subs pic.twitter.com/QHrmifF670
— (@SimplyMarceI) May 11, 2021
If I’m Barca’s President, I’m sacking Koeman before he gets back to Barcelona with the team bus. Dreadful coaching today.
— Edmund (@EdmundOris) May 11, 2021
This was our 4th chance to be at the top of the table and still have an outside chance to win the league title but the stubborn Koeman with his brilliant subs pulled off a masterclass to bottle it yet again. How can someone be this shameless. Thank you Koeman but I’ve had enough.
— Rahul Sharma (@CricFnatic) May 11, 2021
This is the end for Koeman as a Barça coach and dare I hope the end of Sergi Roberto’s Barça career aswell. Laporta isn’t Bartomeu, he will act. He’s an actual fan and like us, he watches the games and wants what’s best for the team.
— De Ara Torres (@dearatorres) May 11, 2021
Literally all Koeman had to do is put Mingueza on for Araujo and we win this game easily. He decided to put Sergi at CB instead? Can anyone explain this to me? This is one of the most confusing decisions I’ve ever seen a Barcelona coach make.
— OKIN (@Alkidam) May 11, 2021
For everything that happened in the 2nd half,
I blame it all on KOEMAN.
— Barca Principal ⚽ ❤️💙 (@BarcaPrincipal) May 11, 2021
Up 2-0…. cruising… suddenly goes to a back 4 puts Sergi roberto tie the game in 10 mins…. take the lead again makes another sub… score within minutes to tie… shocking from Koeman and Barca… just another humiliating performance
— Sebas Quintero (@barcasebas20) May 11, 2021
Koeman actually waits for the entire team to implode to bring Riqui Puig on. Out of my club!
— Rafael Hernández (@RafaelH117) May 11, 2021
If consistently playing Roberto after disasterclass upon disasterclass isn’t an indication that Koeman should leave, i dont know what is
— Clev (@ethancleverly10) May 11, 2021
This loss is all on Koeman I’m afraid. Killed the game with his subs, something he has been struggling with since he signed.
— Crackinho (@tikiola) May 11, 2021
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