FC Barcelona missed out on their third league title in a row, but finished second to ensure a direct ticket to the Champions League group stages.
The competition was a three-horse race between Barça, Real Madrid and Sevilla that wasn’t
settled until the final day. Rijkaard’s side scored more goals than anybody else but ended
the tournament neck and neck with Madrid. In many domestic competitions their superior goal
difference would have won them the title, but in Spain it’s head to head that counts, so
Barça missed out. With Messi and Eto'o out for much of the campaign through injury, it was an
irregular tournament for Barça, but they remained unbeaten at the Camp Nou and won eight games on
the road, including a spectacular 6-0 at Atlético Madrid. But two draws at the Camp Nou proved
costly. Four games from the end, a Sobis equaliser in the 89th minute meant Betis snatched a
1-1
draw, and Real Madrid were able to move to the top of the table.
Everything fell back into Barça’s hands on the penultimate weekend when they led
Espanyol 2-1 while Madrid were losing by the same score in Zaragoza. But in another 89th minute
setback, Tamudo scored for Espanyol at the Camp Nou at precisely the same moment that Van
Nistelrooy levelled affairs for Madrid at La Romareda. The final day of the season produced high
drama too. Barça were cruising to what would be a
5-1
win in Tarragona, while Madrid were 1-0 down at home to Mallorca. But three late Madrid
goals meant that it was not to be, and the season ended in disappointment for Barcelona.
Click
here
to see the statistics of the Spanish League.