Barcelona’s attempt to go a full La Liga season unbeaten ended in their final away game at Levante but Sergio Busquets held his head high.

Busquets urged Barcelona to remain proud of their double-winning heroics despite Levante breaking their unbeaten streak in a remarkable 5-4 defeat.

Ernesto Valverde’s men fell short at the penultimate hurdle in their attempt to claim a rare piece of football history as Emmanuel Boateng hit a hat-trick and Enis Bardhi weighed in with a superb brace at Ciutat de Valencia.

Philippe Coutinho was one of the few shining lights for the champions and his own treble along with Luis Suarez’s subsequent penalty set up a grandstand finish.

It was not to be for Barca and next weekend’s trophy celebrations against Real Sociedad at Camp Nou may feel a little anti-climactic – something Busquets thinks would be unfair.

‘It’s obvious that we wanted to finish this season unbeaten but everything that we’ve done up until now was of merit,’ the Spain midfielder said.

‘It’s a shame that we’ve lost. They caught us on the counter-attack and were quick.

‘We made little lapses of concentration and it’s really difficult when you have to overturn a lead like 5-1.

‘We were pushing, we were working, we used lots of energy. We had chances to draw but it wasn’t our night, it wasn’t to be.

‘When you chuck away five goals, it’s hard to haul it back.’

Busquets added: ‘Our performances have been absolutely unreal all season. We should be proud of it and we’re still proud of it.

‘We’ve got one more game. We’ll celebrate the title at Camp Nou with our fans.’

Barcelona confirmed defender Thomas Vermaelen suffered a hamstring injury during the first half and will undergo tests.

Photo: Biel Alino/Backpagepix