Opinion: Barcelona's decline is as irreversible as it is painful

You can lose against Sevilla in the Copa del Rey. You can lose against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League. But you cannot draw against Cadiz when you have a chance to get back into the La Liga title race. A disappointing Barcelona suffered an unforgivable setback at Camp Nou on Sunday which was a jar of cold water over the heads of the fans. The Blaugrana were unable to take advantage of Atletico Madrid's dropped points against Levante this week (a draw and a lose) and remain eight points of the leaders. Real Madrid, without a doubt, are the big winners this weekend.

Barça's performance on Sunday was incomprehensible. After the humiliation suffered at the hands of Kylian Mbappe (1-4 vs. PSG), it was time to react. And there were reasons to believe the La Liga dream was waking up again: Atletico have dropped a lot of points in recent weeks and Barça were on a good run of seven straight wins in the league. But Ronald Koeman's side were incapable of overcoming Cadiz, who arrived at Camp Nou having earned just one point from their last five matches.

The courageous defending from the visitors is no excuse. A team like Barça must find solutions. The problem is they have none. Leo Messi scored a penalty and that was it. A lot of domination, but little in the final third and no effectiveness. In the end, a mistake from Clement Lenglet handed Cadiz an absurd penalty that came with a huge cost. This team's legs tremble in the decisive games. And Sunday's was. Against a smaller side, but still decisive. Winning meant showing they want to fight for the La Liga title. Failing to do so was as ridiculous as it is unacceptable.

The coming months are going to drag. The Champions League is impossible. The Copa del Rey is almost impossible. And La Liga is less possible all the time. Shocking. Barça's decline is as irreversible as it is painful.

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