FC Barcelona and the German national team captain Ilkay Gündogan may be increasingly losing sight of the goal of successfully defending their title in the Spanish football championship.
Coach Xavi’s team had to be content with a 1-1 (0-0) draw at FC Valencia on matchday 17 and thus lost two more points. The master’s lead by the Portuguese Joao Felix (55th) was equalized by Hugo Guillamon (70th).
Gündogan was in the starting line-up, as was Bayern Munich’s former top scorer Robert Lewandowski. However, national goalkeeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen was still missing due to injury. The day before, Barcelona lost 4-2 at home against leaders FC Girona.
Barcelona’s rivals can thus extend their lead on Sunday and Monday. Should Real Madrid win its home game against Villarreal FC as well as the surprise team FC Girona against Deportivo Alaves, the two clubs would already be seven and nine points ahead of the Catalans, who at least moved into the knockout round as group winners in the Champions League during the week were.