Madrid: Almost exactly an hour after the final whistle of the match between Real Madrid and Liverpool at Kiev May 26, Barcelona posted a tweet: “Congratulations to Real Madrid for winning the 2017-18 Champions League title,”
Underneath some fans demanded the message be deleted immediately while others claimed it as a classy touch. “We are rivals, not enemies,” one wrote.
But from the words that have been spoken since, and despite the club’s stately message, it is clear Real’s triumph hit home. Barcelona had failed and this made it even harder to bear.
We’ve been knocked out in the Champions League quarters three seasons in a row and maybe the last one was the worst of all. Now it’s time to win it
Lionel Messi
“Obviously it’s infuriating (for us),” Suarez said in an interview earlier this month. “Real have won the CL in each of the last three years. They have made history and it’s a thorn in our side.”
Chiefly, perhaps, because Barca will feel they were better than Madrid last season. They thrashed Real 3-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu before playing out a 2-2 in spite of being played with 10 men the second half. They also finished 17 points clear of them to win La Liga.
But while Real’s victory over Liverpool was a final blow, it was the defeat to Roma, and the manner of it, that was the moment of realisation. Throwing away a 4-1 lead by losing 0-3 in Italy was not perceived as just careless, it was unforgivable.
Coach Ernesto Valverde’s team stung for the rest of the season, even if they completed the double by thrashing Sevilla to win the Copa del Rey.
Messi may also need to be preserved if he is to add a fifth Champions League success to his collection. Now captain, he appears hungrier than ever.