Local dailies jumped all over Barcelona’s players on Friday after the La Liga leaders lost, 4-0, at Getafe and blew a place in the Copa del Rey final they were all but assured of after a 5-2 win in the first leg. “Azulgrana disaster” said El Mundo, while the front page of Sport said: “Failure. This smells like the end of an era.”
Catalan daily La Vanguardia wrote: “Absolutely shameful. It was an inexcusable, inexplicable and embarrassing shipwreck. After being demolished in the European Super Cup, surprised in the World Club championship and overcome in the Champions League, Barca threw another title in the bin in a pathetic and self-destructive manner.”
Barcelona still leads La Liga by two points over Real Madrid with five games remaining. If Real Madrid beats Espanyol on Saturday, Barca will travel to Real Betis on Sunday needing to win to retain its outright lead.