FC Barcelona and Lionel Messi are sinking further and further into the median

Failures, mistakes and injuries: Barcelona are sinking more and more into the mediocre

FC Barcelona are in a sporting crisis and fatigue after their third defeat in the eighth game. World star Lionel Messi is currently just a shadow of big days.

A huge mistake by Marc-André ter Stegen made Lionel Messi’s messed up anniversary really bad. As a daring hike by the German goalkeeper went glaringly wrong, Barcelona suffered a 0-1 defeat at Atletico Madrid and sank deeper and deeper into the league median.

Even world star Messi (33) couldn’t stop Atletico’s longtime manager Diego Simeone from celebrating a win against Barça for the first time in the league in his 800th game with the Catalans with a shocking performance.

The key scene occurred in the recovery time of the first half. Atletico’s Yannick Carrasco played the ball about 40 meters from goal with a little push under the leg of the hasty ter Stegen and then shot from a great distance into the orphaned guests’ goal. This was preceded by a mistake by Gerard Piqué.

“That shouldn’t happen to a team like ours,” said Dutch manager Ronald Koeman contrite. The proud Catalans are now nine points behind Real Sociedad San Sebastan, who lead the league on an equal footing with Atletico. The eternal rivals of Real Madrid are six points clear of the fourth, but also disappointed in the 1-1 draw at Villarreal.

Injuries as a further challenge

For Barcelona, ​​however, this should bring little consolation, especially as defensive boss Piqué had to be replaced after the break due to a knee injury initially considered very serious. Barcelona then announced that it could only be a knee compression.

To complete the pitch-black evening, Sergio Roberto suffered a muscle injury to his right thigh and is expected to be out for a few weeks. “I’m really worried,” said Koeman, who has to do without the injured Ronald Araujo and young star Ansu Fati.

Conditions not exactly ideal for Tuesday’s match against Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League. In the premier class, Barca are currently still on target and could secure advancement ahead of time. (dab / sda / dpa)