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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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TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Barcelona13110240122833
2Real Madrid1283125111427
3Atletico MadridAtletico137511971226
4Villarreal127322319424
5Osasuna136341720-321
6Athletic Bilbao135531913620
7Real BetisBetis135531412220
8Real Sociedad135351110118
9Mallorca135351010018
10GironaGirona135351617-118
11Celta Vigo135262022-217
12Rayo Vallecano124441313016
13Sevilla134361218-615
14Leganes133551316-314
15AlavesAlaves134181422-813
16Las PalmasLas Palmas133371622-612
17Getafe13175811-310
18Espanyol123181122-1110
19Real ValladolidValladolid132381025-159
20Valencia11146817-97
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