WITHOUT Lionel Messi to save the day, Barcelona bid farewell to its quest to make history in Spain.

Barcelona lost 5-4 in a wild game at Levante on Sunday, ruining the champion’s chance to become the first team to finish a Spanish league season without a defeat under its current format.

Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde left Messi out of his squad to rest ahead of a demanding summer for the Argentina forward at the World Cup.

The real trouble for Barcelona, however, came on defense.

Led by Emmanuel Boateng’s hat trick and two more goals from Enis Bardhi, Levante was heading toward a historic rout of the recently crowned champions when the hosts built a 5-1 advantage after 56 minutes.

But Barcelona roared back, with Philippe Coutinho adding two more goals to his first-half strike to complete a hat trick before Luis Suarez converted a penalty to cut the deficit to 5-4 in the 71st. (SD-Agencies)