Devastation at Anfield sparked a horrible year at Barcelona

Devastation at Anfield sparked a horrible year at Barcelona

On May 7, 2019, Barcelona experienced one of the lowest nights in their history.

The Catalans crumbled to Champions League elimination at Anfield, despite having carried a 3-0 advantage to England from the first leg.

All of the pain they had suffered in Rome returned, and it was proven that they hadn't learned their lessons.

"You have to dive deep into the psychological issues to understand the causes of this defeat," Marc-Andre ter Stegen said shortly afterwards.

"We had an unfortunate game," Lionel Messi acknowledged, while Gerard Pique described it as "as a nightmare that will last for a long time".

Despite going on to win LaLiga Santander, the loss at Anfield scarred the players.

"We suffered for days, weeks," said Luis Suarez.

"I didn't want to leave home. It was very hard.

"I had a really tough time, like most of my teammates."

That night had an impact as well, as the club have since been plunged into a crisis at all levels.

It kickstarted an awful year, which nobody can predict the end of.

A lot of people think Josep Maria Bartomeu should have dismissed Ernesto Valverde at the end of the season, but the coach remained until midway through 2019/20 before becoming the first coach in 15 years that the club sacked.

Tension has increased between the club and players since Valverde's dismissal, Eric Abidal has caused a stir and received an unhappy response from Messi.

La Ser revealed that the club had been using social media to censor what was being said and to even attack former players, coaches and presidential candidates.

Emili Rousaud, the vice-president, has now left and the club's problems are showing no signs of going away.

The club's finances are hanging by a thread despite the enormous income they generate, players have had to cut their salaries - which was again managed in a way that caused division between the club and squad.

Other than the title wrapped up last May, nothing but bad news has come Barcelona's way since that night at Anfield.
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