After a shocking loss to Leganes, Barcelona gives up on winning the title.

You really couldn't say anything good about the performance against Leganes on Sunday night.

After a strong start to his season, Hansi Flick could have been forgiven for believing, especially at such a young age, that he was coaching the league winners this year.

While they were scoring a tonne of goals and dominating practically every opponent, Barca are now, dare we say it, looking very normal.

Even though he didn't play on the bench against Los Pepineros, Flick would have witnessed an opponent who at least fulfilled their obligations, even if they weren't entirely responsible for their victory. Similar to how Las Palmas recently humbled Barca, the opponent was inconsequential in many ways.

Playing for the Catalan giants comes with a certain degree of expectation in your performance, and Barca's spine in particular was far below average in several areas of a game where they never really got going.

Yes, they puffed and huffed, but that's not exactly how they play. Being tenacious and determined is fine, but it's a must for any Barcelona player. the very minimum that anyone wearing the shirt should be expected to do.

They simply lacked the control and ball management that have come to define them. When it came to possession, the Catalans were neither cool nor collected, but you couldn't say that they were headless chickens either.

Even if Raphinha has had better days, he once again set an example. He was just a hair's breadth away from giving the home team an equaliser in the first half by pushing, probing, and prodding.

However, we are far past the point in the season when we should depend on his and Lamine Yamal's game-winning efforts as well.

Once more, a low block proved to be Barca's undoing as the visitors' five-at-the-back made sure there was nowhere to work in the middle of the pitch. Despite having 80 percent of the ball for the whole game, the hosts were unable to convert their possessions.

In practice, this meant that the ball was constantly moved from one wing to the other. Leganes, a squad that hadn't won away from home this season, were well-trained in their defensive duties and were able to fend off most of the attacks.

Robert Lewandowski and Dani Olmo were especially guilty of being sluggish and wasteful, and the team as a whole was off colour when it counted.

There was never any "rondo" style passing in the midfield either, where opponents are frequently confused by quick, precise, and accurate exchanges. It was swapped out for bland, uninspired food that wasn't prepared with conviction, which must be a cause for concern.

With Atletico Madrid, who had tied the score with Barcelona earlier in the day, missing the chance to gain ground on their opponents on Saturday, the Blaugrana now face the best team in La Liga.

In just a few short weeks, Hansi Flick's team has dug a tremendous hole and lost its heart, soul, and mojo after dominating early in the season and playing some exceptionally beautiful football.