As referee Jesus Gil Manzano blew the final whistle, Lamine Yamal and Raphinha threw themselves to the ground while covering their faces in despair.
Barcelona were forced to settle for a 1-1 home draw against Real Betis. Gavi had opened the scoring after seven minutes from a tight angle but it was a lead that lasted just ten minutes when centre-back Natan headed in Giovani Lo Celso’s corner. There were still more than 70 minutes left but Manuel Pellegrini’s stayed resolute, although Barca were far from their best.
Hansi Flick will surely remember the outstanding save from former Liverpool goalkeeper Adrian to stop Jules Kounde in the second half, as well as the last-minute cross from Raphinha that Robert Lewandowski or Fermin Lopez failed to tap in. The coaching staff can have reasons to be disappointed at Ronald Araujo’s man-marking, or lack of, when Betis equalised.
Barca had 13 shots to Betis’ six, accumulated 1.0 expected goals (xG) more than their opponents and enjoyed 74 per cent of the possession. But the Catalans’ frustration was, pretty much, fuelled by what happened hours before their game even started.
Valencia had caused a stir in La Liga title race and defeated Real Madrid 2-1 at the Bernabeu with a 95th-minute winner from Hugo Duro. Had the Catalans won against Betis, they would be six points above their rivals with eight games to go.
Gavi gives Barca the lead (JOSEP LAGO/AFP via Getty Images)
Despite the final result, Flick stayed optimistic with a four-point lead.
“We have one more point (gained after Saturday’s games) compared to our rivals and we have one less game to go — that’s good,” said Flick in the post-match press conference.
“I am very positive with what I have seen from my team in the second half. We have done and tried everything. What happened today will help us to realise this La Liga title won’t be easy to win.”
Barcelona have managed to win 12 of the last 14 games, and remain unbeaten in 22, which is quite the achievement given their hectic schedule.
Barca had played four games in a space of nine days, one of them an extremely demanding Copa del Rey semi-final clash away to Atletico Madrid. They won three and lost none.
Last week, the vast majority of players came back to action with no rest after the international break, and they won two of those games with a three-goal margin.
Against Betis, Flick was forced to leave Inigo Martinez out of the matchday squad due to a minor muscular injury. Frenkie de Jong, Pedri and Alejandro Balde were taken off in the second half to protect them before the Champions League quarter-final first leg against Borussia Dortmund.
“We managed well the muscular fatigue over the last few days and we are in a good position for the Dortmund game on Wednesday,” said Flick.
A result and performance like this have been slowly cooking for weeks. The coaching staff have to use it as a wake-up call to the team, a warning of how quickly things can change and use it as fuel to motivate the players as they bid for a first treble 2014-15.
It might end up being useful, before the crunch time of the run in, to listen to 18-year-old Pau Cubarsi.
“We have not been good enough,” he told local television TV3 after the game. “We lacked determination and I probably would say more desire to win. We have not been at 100 per cent tonight, and this is a learning for us that if we’re not at 100 per cent we can’t win.
“The game load and the packed schedule we’ve had might have had an impact, but for me it can’t be an excuse. We must be better.”
Cubarsi is demanding more of himself and the squad (David Ramos/Getty Images)
The Barcelona fanbase and those around the club may be more cautious with the treble talk. The players have openly admitted they feel like the favourites in every competition they are in.
It has been a constant theme in Flick’s media duties over the past weeks. “My dream this season is to play 15 more games”, he said on Friday when asked about the hopes with this team. “I’m always positive and if we do that, I’ll be very happy”.
Barca had 12 games remaining then, to which the German manager added the potential of Champions League semi-finals and final.
Flick and Barca have reasons to dream — but the Betis game taught them they still have an awful lot of work to do.
(Top photo: Lewandowski with Fermin and Pedri after the Betis draw. JOSEP LAGO/AFP via Getty Images)