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Lionel Messi brands Barcelona "weak and vulnerable"

:Headline: Lionel Messi brands Barcelona 'weak and vulnerable': ID:406887: from db_amp
The Catalan giants surrendered their LaLiga title to rivals Real Madrid on Thursday night.

Lionel Messi believes "weak and vulnerable" Barcelona must improve quickly if they are to have any chance in the Champions League next month.

The Catalan giants surrendered their LaLiga title to rivals Real Madrid on Thursday night, with their 30-game unbeaten home league run ending in the process after a 2-1 loss to Osasuna.

While Real have not dropped a single point since the league's resumption after the coronavirus shutdown, Barcelona drew a total of three matches before Thursday's loss and Messi says they are the masters of their own downfall.

He told Spanish TV channel Movistar + as reported by AS: "To be honest, this is not the way we wanted things to end, but tonight's game is a microcosm of our entire season.

"We've been too weak and vulnerable. It's not normal that another team beats us for intensity and desire. We dropped too many points along the way and that sums up our season.

"Real Madrid did what they had to do after the restart and didn't drop any points, we helped them along the way by losing points that we should not have let slip.

"We need to take a look at ourselves. We are Barcelona and we should be winning everything."

Barcelona play the second leg of their last-16 Champions League clash with Napoli at the Nou Camp on August 8, with the tie level at 1-1.

“We've been too weak and vulnerable. It's not normal that another team beats us for intensity and desire”
- Lionel Messi told Movistar

The winner will likely face a quarter-final against Bayern Munich, as the German champions hold a commanding 3-0 advantage over Chelsea, but Messi admits Barcelona will need a huge improvement to compete.

"I'm telling you that if we continue in this manner, we will not advance in the Champions League as we weren't good enough to retain the LaLiga title," he added.

"We're going to need to change plenty if we want to deliver and we also need to take a long hard look at ourselves.

"We lost the title due to our own shortcomings and not because of what Real Madrid did as many people are claiming."

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Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Real Madrid32256170224881
2Barcelona32217464372770
3GironaGirona32215667402768
4Atletico MadridAtletico32194959382161
5Athletic Bilbao321610652302258
6Real Sociedad321312746341251
7Real BetisBetis32121284038248
8Valencia32138113534147
9Villarreal32119125155-442
10Getafe32913103844-640
11Osasuna32116153746-939
12Sevilla32910134145-437
13Las PalmasLas Palmas32107153039-937
14AlavesAlaves3298152838-1035
15Rayo Vallecano32713122739-1234
16Celta Vigo32710153747-1031
17Mallorca32613132638-1231
18CadizCadiz32413152245-2325
19Granada3239203361-2818
20Almeria32111203164-3314
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