BARCA’S UNBEATEN STREAK ENDS
MADRID: Philippe Coutinho hit a hat-trick but could not save Barcelona's unbeaten season as the Catalans were left stunned by an extraordinary 5-4 defeat to Levante.
Ernesto Valverde rested Lionel Messi for his team's penultimate match of the campaign but it was a defensive horror-show that allowed Emmanuel Boateng to score three times and Enis Bardhi twice at the City of Valencia Stadium.
The La Liga and Copa del Rey champions trailed 5-1 after an hour and still came within a whisker of a sensational comeback as Coutinho's second and third goals, and a Luis Suarez penalty, set up a grandstand finish.
But Levante held on for a thrilling victory, which ends their opponents' hopes of becoming the first ever club to finish a 38-game La Liga season as invincibles.
After drawing at home to Real Madrid last weekend, despite playing the second half with 10 men, and thrashing Villarreal, Barcelona sat just two games away from the historical feat.
It was 1932 when the last side, Real Madrid, went unbeaten in the top-flight but even that was across only 18 matches, in a 10-team division.
This was Barcelona's first league loss since slipping up against Malaga on April 8 last year and while it has minimal impact on the table, Valverde will have questions to answer, not least with regards to leaving out Messi.
“We are angry not to have come through this game and not to have the opportunity to finish unbeaten,” Valverde said.
“But in a season some matches go your way and some don't. I think this result was harsh in all respects but at other times this season, like in Seville, we could also have lost.”
This defensive collapse was reminiscent of their Champions League meltdown against Roma, which has soured an otherwise successful campaign. The unbeaten record was supposed to help atone for the European failure.
“Obviously we wanted to finish the league undefeated,” Sergio Busquets said. ROME: Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri hailed his side's winning mentality as they sealed a seventh straight Serie A title after a goalless draw against ten-man Roma at the Stadio Olimpico.
The Turin giants had needed just a point to officially seal their 34th Scudetto title and become the first team to complete the league and Cup double for four consecutive seasons.
Roma played the final twenty minutes yesterday a man down after Radja Nainggolan was sent off for a second yellow card after a foul on Argentina striker Paulo Dybala.
Allegri's side also won the Italian Cup in the Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday with a 4-0 win over AC Milan.
With one game left to play Juventus cannot be caught by second-placed Napoli who are four points behind after winning 2-0 at Sampdoria on Sunday.
“It's not easy to keep the right mentality just a few days after winning the Italian Cup final,” said Allegri. “I think the greatest strength was keeping calm in all situations. You reach the final objective with one small step at a time.”