Lionel Messi: Barcelona Must Say Sorry for Liverpool Defeat
Lionel Messi feels that Barcelona's performance against Liverpool in their Champions League semi-final encounter was 'lamentable' and said that they must apologise.
Lionel Messi is not happy with the way Barcelona crashed out of the Champions League.
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Madrid: Barcelona must apologize for its "lamentable" Champions League semifinal exit at the hands of Liverpool earlier this month, according to Lionel Messi.
In his first Barca news conference for four years, the Argentina great said on Friday: "We are still recovering from what happened in Liverpool. At least I am.
"Our performance was lamentable. It was a very tough loss for us."
Barcelona led 3-0 from the first leg at the Nou Camp, but then went down 4-0 in the return match at Anfield.
"We don't have to apologize for losing, but we do for not competing," Messi said of his team's second-leg collapse.
He was talking on the eve of Barcelona's last match of the season, the Copa del Rey final against Valencia.
Messi has often avoided reporters during his career and his previous news conference before a Barcelona match was in 2015, when the Catalan club faced Bayern Munich in the Champions League semis.
Barcelona will aim to add to its Spanish league title on Saturday, but the Champions League was its main goal this season.
"It's true that winning the double is important, but we will still have a bad feeling for that loss," Messi said. "We all had our focus on winning the Champions League, so the disappointment was that much greater."
Barcelona also suffered a tough exit against Roma in the Champions League quarterfinals in 2018, when it also squandered a big first-leg lead.
"We didn't think what happened against Roma could happen again," forward Messi said. "Our first leg against Liverpool wasn't too bad, but we didn't compete at all in the second."
Barcelona is seeking its fifth straight Copa del Rey triumph, while Valencia will try to win the tournament for the eighth time, and the first since 2008.
The final is at Real Betis' Benito Villamarin Stadium in Seville.
(Get detailed and live results of each and every seat in the Lok Sabha elections and state Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim to know which candidate/party is leading or trailing and to know who has won and who has lost and by what margin. Our one-of-its-kind Election Analytics Centre lets you don a psephologist’s hat and turn into an election expert. Know interesting facts and trivia about the elections and see our informative graphics. Elections = News18)
In his first Barca news conference for four years, the Argentina great said on Friday: "We are still recovering from what happened in Liverpool. At least I am.
"Our performance was lamentable. It was a very tough loss for us."
Barcelona led 3-0 from the first leg at the Nou Camp, but then went down 4-0 in the return match at Anfield.
"We don't have to apologize for losing, but we do for not competing," Messi said of his team's second-leg collapse.
He was talking on the eve of Barcelona's last match of the season, the Copa del Rey final against Valencia.
Messi has often avoided reporters during his career and his previous news conference before a Barcelona match was in 2015, when the Catalan club faced Bayern Munich in the Champions League semis.
Barcelona will aim to add to its Spanish league title on Saturday, but the Champions League was its main goal this season.
"It's true that winning the double is important, but we will still have a bad feeling for that loss," Messi said. "We all had our focus on winning the Champions League, so the disappointment was that much greater."
Barcelona also suffered a tough exit against Roma in the Champions League quarterfinals in 2018, when it also squandered a big first-leg lead.
"We didn't think what happened against Roma could happen again," forward Messi said. "Our first leg against Liverpool wasn't too bad, but we didn't compete at all in the second."
Barcelona is seeking its fifth straight Copa del Rey triumph, while Valencia will try to win the tournament for the eighth time, and the first since 2008.
The final is at Real Betis' Benito Villamarin Stadium in Seville.
(Get detailed and live results of each and every seat in the Lok Sabha elections and state Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim to know which candidate/party is leading or trailing and to know who has won and who has lost and by what margin. Our one-of-its-kind Election Analytics Centre lets you don a psephologist’s hat and turn into an election expert. Know interesting facts and trivia about the elections and see our informative graphics. Elections = News18)