Messy situation
Barca’s title hopes hanging by a thread after Levante draw
MADRID: Lionel Messi scored a brilliant volley but Barcelona’s title hopes could be over, with a 3-3 draw away at Levante giving Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid the chance to pull away at the top of La Liga.
Another slip could prove decisive given Atletico will move four points clear of Barcelona with two games left.
Real will edge two points ahead of Ronald Koeman’s side if they win away tomorrow at Granada.
There are certainly no guarantees in what has been a frenetic and thrilling title race in recent weeks, with all of Spain’s four contenders stumbling down the final stretch.
But with only two games left now and potentially two teams to catch, Barcelona’s chances of taking the title off Real this season would appear remote.
“We were always depending on other results but the objective was to win our three games and hope others dropped points,” said Koeman. “Now it’s very complicated.”
Levante sit 14th in the table and had won only one of their previous eight matches but they had also prevailed in three of their last four games at home against Barcelona, and they turned it on again.
Barcelona led 2-0 from Messi’s acrobatic strike and a simple Pedri finish but two goals in two minutes before the hour suddenly had Levante level, Gonzalo Melero and Jose Luis Morales giving Levante hope.
Ousmane Dembele pulled the visitors ahead again but again they squandered the advantage, Sergio Leon diverting in at the near post and this time there was no way back.
“We lowered our intensity from the start of the second half, lost our rhythm,” said Koeman.
“We weren’t defensively attentive and we let Levante back in. There is no other explanation.”
“Our chances are slim,” added Sergio Busquets. “And that’s our fault – our decisions, our concentration – we give away easy goals.”
Koeman has made positive strides this season but his team’s lapses of concentration and fragility in defence remain.
Questions around the Dutchman’s future will grow louder the more the club’s title chances fade, his decisions this time to start Dembele at right wingback and to bring Sergi Roberto into the back three particularly vulnerable to scrutiny.
“Coaches will always be questioned, that isn’t going to change but with that second half there will be questions asked and I understand that perfectly,” said Koeman.