Two days before Barcelona were due to face Juventus in the Champions League, their toughest match in Group G, the Catalan club were still bemoaning the one thing they said won the Clasico for Real Madrid – VAR.
There was no talk Monday of Barca’s lack of creativity that meant Madrid, as the away team, had more shots at Camp Nou, nor their timid response that allowed their opponents to coast through the last half an hour with a one-goal lead.
There was no admittance of failure from coach Ronald Koeman, whose substitutions proved ineffective or, worse, counter-productive.
There was no addressing the question of defeat, or a single question at all, by Barca’s senior players, not even captain Lionel Messi, who has now gone six games without scoring against his team’s greatest rivals.