Barcelona star Lionel Messi blasted his team for being "weak" after seeing Real Madrid grab the La Liga title on Thursday.
Real Madrid wrested the league title away from Barcelona for the first time in three years and Messi said Barca must quickly change course to have a chance at winning the Champions League.
Zinedine Zidane's team clinched the title by beating Villarreal 2-1 but would have lifted the trophy regardless after Barcelona slumped to a 2-1 loss to an Osasuna side that finished with 10 men.
“This game represents the entire year. We have been an erratic and weak team,” Messi said in a TV interview just after the final whistle at Camp Nou.
“Madrid did its part by winning all its matches, which is impressive, but we also helped them to win this league. We have to be critical of how we have played, starting with the players, and the rest of the club.”
Barcelona led the league by two points over Madrid when the league was stopped in mid-March for three months due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Madrid returned to the competition motivated and in shape, reeling off 10 straight wins.
Barcelona drew three matches to lose the lead, and on Thursday hit a new low when they lost their first home match since November 2018.
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Real win the title
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“The feeling on this team is that it tries, but that it cannot get the job done,” Messi said. “Today in the first half they were better than we were and it seems we have to fall behind to react like we tried to do in the second half.”
Messi scored his league-leading 23rd goal from a free kick in the second half to cancel Jose Arnaiz’s opener.
Barcelona got an advantage when the visitors lost substitute Enric Gallego to a straight red card for bloodying the mouth of Clement Lenglet with an elbow to the face. But Osasuna’s Roberto Torres scored in stoppage time with Barcelona pushing forward searching for a late goal.
“I said it some time ago, that playing like this we had no chance of winning the Champions League, and it turns out we didn’t even have enough to win the La Liga,” Messi said. “We need to take a breather, let some air in, and clean out minds of all that has happened since December.”
Leap of Faith
Michael J Mazarr
Public Affairs
Dh67
Results
2.15pm: Handicap Dh80,000 1,950m
Winner: Hello, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ali Rashid Al Raihi (trainer).
2.45pm: Handicap Dh90,000 1,800m
Winner: Right Flank, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
3.15pm: Handicap Dh115,000 1,000m
Winner: Leading Spirit, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
3.45pm: Jebel Ali Mile Group 3 Dh575,000 1,600m
Winner: Chiefdom, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
4.15pm: Handicap Dh105,000 1,400m
Winner: Ode To Autumn, Patrick Cosgrave, Satish Seemar.
4.45pm: Shadwell Farm Conditions Dh125,000 1,200m
Winner: Last Surprise, James Doyle, Simon Crisford.
5.15pm: Handicap Dh85,000 1,200m
Winner: Daltrey, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihi.
French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
The Travel Diaries of Albert Einstein The Far East, Palestine, and Spain, 1922 – 1923
Editor Ze’ev Rosenkranz
Princeton
SERIE A FIXTURES
Saturday (All UAE kick-off times)
Cagliari v AC Milan (6pm)
Lazio v Napoli (9pm)
Inter Milan v Atalanta (11.45pm)
Sunday
Udinese v Sassuolo (3.30pm)
Sampdoria v Brescia (6pm)
Fiorentina v SPAL (6pm)
Torino v Bologna (6pm)
Verona v Genoa (9pm)
Roma V Juventus (11.45pm)
Parma v Lecce (11.45pm)
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Dubai World Cup Carnival Thursday race card
6.30pm: Dubai Millennium Stakes Group Three US$200,000 (Turf) 2,000m
7.05pm: Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,600m
7.40pm: UAE Oaks Group Three $250,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
8.15pm: Zabeel Mile Group Two $250,000 (T) 1,600m
8.50pm: Meydan Sprint Group Two $250,000 (T) 1,000m
9.25pm: Handicap $135,000 (D) 1,400m
10pm: Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,600m
Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week
