Sid Lowe

Because you could look at this and say, well, the Champions League level is higher than La Liga.

And that would be true up to a point.

And it would be true up to a point what their manager has tried to claim, which is that in Champions League, they've been pretty unlucky.

The way they drew with Spurs, sorry, the way they lost to Spurs with an own goal very early on.

The defeat, the draw, I think it was with Juventus.

Yes, Man City came and destroyed them, but City were just another level.

But then what happens is they start to fall away in those games where you do expect more.

They get beaten by Paphos.

Now, it's a bit of a fluke and it is Paphos' only shot on goal, but they get beaten by them.

And so it's trying to find an explanation for that.

And it's really, really difficult to find one, to be honest, because in La Liga, they've been efficient.

They've been incredibly good on the break.

They're an athletic team.

They're a strong team.

They're a tall team.

And really and truly, you look around the league from fourth downwards and there's no one who can touch them.

Obviously, week by week, there might be games when they don't win, but there's no one who can touch them consistently.

But in Champions League, they've just been awful.

Yes, absolutely.

I don't think you have to support Barcelona to love watching Pedri play, the smoothness with which he plays, the intelligence, the creativity, the inventiveness, and it's a real pity.