Messi: More hurt than ever

Posted Tuesday, May 14, 2019 by Marca.com

Barcelona's shock elimination at the hands of Liverpool in the Champions League semi-final second leg at Anfield will no doubt take time to digest.

A year from the similarly painful loss in Rome combined with the damaging defeat on Merseyside has resulted in a tough period of reflection for the Catalan club.

Nobody can hide, not even Lionel Messi.

His face during and after Sunday's 2-0 home win against Getafe was a fair reflection of the recent mood in the camp.

Messi is a born winner, he always has been and this hasn't changed.

In previous seasons it wasn't uncommon for the magician from Rosario to go without speaking to anybody until the following game.

At Liverpool airport, two Barcelona fans criticised their captain for failing to applaud the travelling fans on the night, this didn't help his already shattered state.

Several players received jeers from the Camp Nou faithful on Sunday, including Sergio Busquets, who has rarely been criticised by his own fans.

These actions led to Messi opting against celebrating his team's goals, which he previously refused to do when Luis Enrique and Andre Gomes came in for criticism.

Barcelona won the double in 2017/18 season and are on course to do so again this campaign. In order for this to happen, Messi believes everyone needs to be united as one, speaking out against the booing of Philippe Coutinho after the Champions League first leg against Liverpool in Camp Nou.

"We have to be more united than ever, now is the time to get behind us," he said.

On Sunday, the Blaugrana captain was seen leaving the pitch without applauding the supporters.

Barcelona's second goal of the game wasn't celebrated by Messi either, perhaps because Mauro Arambarri got the final touch.