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Barcelona and Lionel Messi's La Liga title hopes suffered a huge setback as they threw away a 2-0 lead to draw 3-3 against Levante last night. Things seemed to be going according to plan in the first half as goals from Lionel Messi and Pedri gave them a comfortable 2-0 lead.
However, Levante came roaring back in the second half as Melero and Morales scored in quick succession to make it 2-2. Barcelona once again took the lead in the 64th minute through Ousmane Dembele but Sergio Leon's late equalizer broke Barcelona hearts.
Midfielder Sergio Busquets admitted that Barcelona's title challenge was all but over. Speaking after the game he said:
"There are very few options for us to win the league now,
"It feels terrible. We weren't able to win the game, we started well, got the advantage and the second goal, but could not get a third. As has happened too many times, errors have cost us.
"The point means very little to us. We weren't precise with our passing and they took full advantage. We had our chances but we paid for our mistakes - we've not had a good second half.
"It is our fault and we take responsibility - we allow teams to score too easily against us."
Lionel Messi's stunning form in 2021 had sparked hopes of a domestic double for Ronald Koeman and Barcelona. Although Lionel Messi did get on the scoresheet in the first half with a well-taken volley, it was not enough to give Barcelona the win as a woeful display in the second half allowed Levante to come back into the game.
Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman was left baffled by his side's second-half performance. Speaking after the game, the Dutchman said:
"In the second half we lacked intensity and I don't know what I did wrong at the half-time period as we were superior in the first half.
"They surprised us by scoring three goals and I have no explanation - I don't know why it happened.
"In terms of intensity, we dropped and got over-relaxed. The whole team defensively was not at the level required. Conceding three goals in 45 minutes is too many for this team."
Lionel Messi's future has been subject to intense speculation over the last few weeks and it will be interesting to see how this latest result impacts the Argentine's contract talks.
Without further ado, let us take a look at the:
Best tweets from Levante 3-3 Barcelona
Even Lionel Messi could not save Barcelona last night
