A few weeks ago, Barcelona made the headlines mainly because of two things: allegations concerning their reportedly fraudulent transfer of ex-Santos star Neymar, and unconvincing results in La Liga. However, things have taken a rather good twist for Tata Martino and his team, recently.
The Blaugrana conquered Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu in a must-win match, cruised to an easy 3-0 win to Celta Vigo and then squeezed a 1-0 victory away to Espanyol. With these wins, Barcelona now find themselves in second position above Los Blancos and they have a date against Atletico Madrid scheduled for Matchday 38.
This old meme surfaced again following Messi's two penalties in Barcelona's 4-3 win over Real Madrid:
While their fans worldwide are delighted, many non-Barca supporters have slammed the club for benefiting from controversial decisions in El Clasico and against city rivals Espanyol. Celebrity Hugh Laurie, who stars in TV series ‘House’, has added his voice to the millions of common fans criticizing the current league champions.
Speaking about diving antics, Laurie took to Twitter to write:
“I don't understand how Barcelona players can touch the ball without shattering their legs. They go down like little Meissen figurines.”
I don't understand how Barcelona players can touch the ball without shattering their legs. They go down like little Meissen figurines.
— Hugh Laurie (@hughlaurie) March 29, 2014
Unfazed by such criticism, this is what defender Dani Alves had to say during a press conference ahead of Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League showdown at home to Atletico Madrid:
“For a long time now people have been on a campaign about the end of an era. If we win it's because of the referees, if we lose it's the end of an era.”
Surely, fans will be divided over whose comments make the most sense between Dr House and Dani Alves…
