Barça curses with tears the most painful defeat

BarcelonaBare in the throat. Barça lost to Bayern Munich (101-102) on a night when the Blaugrana team was without Chimezie Metu, who suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon in his right leg. The Catalan side suffered the morale blow and let a game they had forgotten slip away. Kevin Punter missed the decisive three-pointer. The defeat overshadowed a great home performance on a very tough day that fans will not soon forget. Hansi Flick, Barça's football coach, attended the match live.

Joan Peñarroya was without Nico Laprovittola, Juan Núñez, and Jan Vesely. The coach was also without youngster Raül Villar, who suffered a slight sprain in his right foot against Casademont Zaragoza. Unlike in other matches, the coach prioritized Willy Hernangómez, who started, over Youssoupha Fall. The Madrid center responded with more points (13) and rebounds (14) than good defensive actions.

The first ten minutes of the match were filled with great offensive voracity. Both teams prioritized offense over defense. Bayern Munich used their good percentages to ensure a high scoring percentage against a Barça that feels more comfortable when it can rely on quick attacks (28-30).

Lacking an impressive outside shot, Barça struggled to keep pace with an inspired opponent (43-54). Jabari Parker was key in preventing a bigger gap, and Kevin Punter helped lead a fiery 10-0 run that tied the score before halftime (55-56).

With a clear game plan despite the absences, Bayern Munich maintained their game plan at a Palau Blaugrana, which was once again angered by the referee's performance. With 13:12 left, Metu was injured in a seemingly harmless incident. Some teammates struggled to hold back tears. Juan Carlos Navarro and many fans clutched their heads. The silence that followed was agonizing (71-68).

Darío Brizuela led Barça through the first few minutes of the fourth quarter that gave them a bit of optimism (90-83), but Bayern Munich's comeback and a final stretch full of poor decisions at home turned the score around with 17.2 seconds left (101-102). Punter missed the decisive three-pointer.