SOMETHING STRANGE happened in the dying moments of the semi-final. In four days, Barcelona had lost virtually everything, Champions League elimination against Chelsea following a definitive defeat to Real Madrid in La Liga, but no one left and no one whistled. Instead, a chant went round: Ser del Barca es el millor que hi ha – being Barca fans is the best thing there is.

Not so very long ago, that would have been unthinkable. There was sadness, but no depression: the pessimism and self-destructive streak that has damaged Barcelona throughout their history was absent. There was little anger from the supporters; there was instead gratitude for what this team have already achieved. They resisted the conclusion that an era had come to an end. Under first Johan Cruyff and then Pep Guardiola, Barcelona have found an identity and a stability absent before.

Few are suggesting that Barcelona must start over again. Instead, there is a belief that they have broadly got things right even when things have gone wrong. Xavi Hernandez has described results as “an imposter”; the play matters even when results do not follow. Football is a sport; you will lose sometimes.

Asked what he would say to the young Barcelona fan crying for the first time on Tuesday night, Guardiola replied: “Welcome to the club – there will be many more times, too.”

Bad luck is never a satisfactory explanation, but it does go some way to explaining things. Barcelona had more than 40 shots across the two legs; they hit the woodwork four times and missed a penalty. “We had a bit of luck,” Chelsea’s Roberto Di Matteo conceded. Which is not to say that luck alone explains Barcelona’s exit; the possession statistics, in which their total reached almost 80 per cent, raise questions about their use of the ball and there had been ample warnings from the first leg.

“I look at the team and I try to think of what we have done wrong to explain why we are not in the final, and I can’t find anything,” Guardiola said. “From the very first day I have said that we have to attack, attack, attack. There are times when we don’t find the necessary pausa. Maybe we have to learn that lesson in the future. We have to find the way of attacking better.”

Perhaps by eschewing some control for greater efficiency. They must find a way of creating greater space. Some say they must find a plan B. But must they? It is striking that while some demanded urgency, the ball into the box, a target man to hit, Guardiola noted the need for greater pausa. Is a direct approach any guarantee? Barcelona briefly tried it with Seydou Keita and it failed; they partly signed Zlatan Ibrahimovic with that in mind, too. He lasted one year. The turnover of strikers alongside Lionel Messi suggests an unsuccessful search for the right associate.

Guardiola has built the team around Messi. “If we are here at all it is thanks to Messi,” the coach said and no one is going to criticise the Argentinian, who has been implausibly brilliant. But Messi and his team-mates reached this semi-final tired, lacking inspiration and freshness.

David Villa’s absence through injury takes on renewed importance now. Barcelona attacked; Chelsea defended. They knew what was coming and they dug in. Only Javier Mascherano shot from distance. Chelsea had no reason to come out to Barcelona. They had no reason to go across to Barcelona either. The idea of opening up the pitch on the outside to create passageways inside works until the opposition know that is what you seek; then they wait inside for the real threat to emerge.

And with more and more men thrown forward, with a lack of physical presence and height, Barcelona left themselves vulnerable to the counter. Chelsea caught them. Not once, not twice, but three times.

Fortune may not have favoured the brave but nor was it entirely capricious in its choice. Any philosophy contains its risks; recent years have shown Barcelona’s can work. Brilliantly, too.

Being a Barcelona fan was the best thing there is. They are certainly not going to turn their backs on it now.