How Barcelona, Real Madrid can fix their issues this summer
The pain of early Champions League exits might actually work in Barcelona's and Real Madrid's favor: It's now clear for all to see where their deficiencies are.
With every other major trophy now assigned, or forsaken, the battle for LaLiga resumes this week with the top two -- Barcelona and Real Madrid -- refocusing through their tears, licking salt from their wounds and worrying about how to solve their deficiencies. Each was eliminated last week at a humiliating and financially damaging stage of the UEFA Champions League . Each unforgivably lost the key home leg of their quarterfinal, and then knocked out after hauling themselves back into a position to win. Galling. Perhaps, however, Atlético Madrid and Bayern Munich have actually handed big favors to Madrid and Barça; inflicting pain and embarrassment to leave forensically clear where their Achilles' heels are located and what needs to be solved. - Messi bought a club in Barcelona! Get to know UE Cornellà - After Champions League defeat, can Madrid's project be salvaged? - Despite Y
This page shows ESPN article metadata and a short preview only. The full story remains on ESPN.