“Historical debacle,” announces Mundo Deportivo. “Another ridicule,” blasts Sport. “The Fall of Barca’s Empire,” trumpets Marca. “Without football or fight,” laments El Pais.
There is certainly a consensus among the Spanish media: Barcelona got what they deserved in Rome on Tuesday night, suffering elimination from the Champions League at the quarter-final stage for the third consecutive season after an abject performance.
Having a 4-1 first-leg lead overturned by a Roma team 21 points off the pace in Serie A was the last thing Barca expected, and it will take a while for reality to sink in as the Catalan giants come to terms with one of the most shocking results in the club’s recent history.
So how on earth did it happen?
- Report: Roma 3-0 Barcelona (agg: 4-4)
‘Barca were out for an early-evening stroll’
One word sums up the difference between the two teams on the night: intensity.
Roma were buzzing all over the pitch, flying into challenges, pouncing on loose balls, pressing high up the pitch with fierce aggression to stop Barca’s build-up play and getting the ball into dangerous positions as quickly as possible.
Barca, meanwhile, looked half-asleep, as though they were heading out for a gentle early-evening stroll while casually considering their plans for dinner.
In truth, the first few minutes were pretty good for the Spanish team, who had a couple of early chances to take the lead as Sergi Roberto shot straight at home goalkeeper Alisson and Lionel Messi mishit a shot wide.
But that changed in the sixth minute, when a routine long ball through the middle was not dealt with by Jordi Alba or Samuel Umtiti, then Marc-Andre ter Stegen stayed rooted to his line and a surprised Edin Dzeko took full advantage by poking home the opener.
From that moment, the complexion of the tie was totally changed as Roma were injected with a major dose of self-belief, while Barca retreated into their shell and appeared to have little plan other than hoping they could hold on.
Roma played as though they were perpetually in fast-forward mode, but Barca were stuck in slow motion, taking an age to deliver their passes and giving the home team far too much time and space to create danger with a barrage of crosses into the box.
To put it simply, Roma wanted it more. True, at times their physical approach overstepped the mark, with Juan Jesus fortunate to only receive a yellow card for a filthy foul on Messi and Fazio lucky to escape a second caution after scything down Andres Iniesta.
But that should not be an excuse for the visitors, whose lacklustre display was startlingly similar to their heavy losses at Paris St-Germain and Juventus in last season’s Champions League. Clearly, lessons have not been learned.
Source BBC…
