BARCELONA (Reuters) - Barcelona's stumble against Slavia Prague in the Champions League on Tuesday and a goalless draw seemed to have left them without reason to act out of normal sporting spirit at the end of the game.
Czech goalkeeper Andre Collage revealed that Lionel Messi and his teammates had left the stadium after the match, and did not hand over Slavia players to Prague or exchange shirts with them.
"Only German goalkeeper Mark-Andre Ter Stegen waited for me in the tunnel leading to the dressing room. He told me he had not seen a good goalkeeper for so long. I was very happy with what he told me and felt it was a reward for my performance in the game."
"The other players like Messi, for example, left quickly and did not shake hands. We were looking forward to meeting top players and want to exchange shirts with them but they did not act tactfully."
The Catalans were booed by some of the Camp Nou fans because of the poor performance of the game, but coach Ernesto Valverde played down the incident and said he understood their anger and discontent. "Naturally the fans demand more, always want to win."
The Czech team made a historic match at the Camp, and imposed a draw on Barca led by Messi, was close to grab the win, was also a strong peer and was not a spectator or defender, and continued to launch attacks against Ter Stegen until the last minute of the game.
Collage was the undisputed man of the match, with Messi and the Blaugrana star having been denied several chances, and he kept a clean sheet.
Barca are top of Group F with eight points, one point ahead of second-placed Dortmund, while Inter Milan are third with four points and two behind Slavia in fourth.