5 conclusions from Barça’s tragic week
Barca ended a particularly tragic week on Sunday. A defeat at the Bernabeu with which he bids farewell to La Liga and to which we must add elimination in the Champions League.
Two painful defeats that once again illustrate the common thread of this season.: Anti-competitive defensive inconsistency that doomed the team. The defensive consistency that made Xavi’s Barça champions of the league has not been maintained this season. Moreover, the club included several players in the attack, but the result was disappointing: strength is lost in both areas.
The matches against PSG and Madrid leave some conclusions that give the club pause:
Without consistency there is no heaven (individual mistakes, structural problems)
Between the two games, Barça conceded six goals.. Atrocity. Especially at that point in the season when the team seemed to have found stability. Cancelo appeared in the photo with four goals, but structural problems must be added to the individual errors.
The team has not figured out the space left behind the left back this season, because he plays at the height of a striker. Playing so far forward meant that Cancelo faced many difficulties when retreating, in addition to his well-known concentration problems.
One of the reasons why Guardiola abandoned the PortugueseFor all he brought to the attack, there was a penchant for those disconnects, which are very costly in the Champions League.
The team also did not find a stable defensive link with a midfielder. This was evident at the Bernabeu, without Christensen on the pitch, Gundogan and Pedri were very exposed at the base of the area.
Lamin, Kubarsi and Fermin: young people should be the basis of the project
This was the best news of the season. Lamin’s meeting at the Bernabeu was an announcement of what was to come. The winger was Barca’s most volatile player, but What’s really scary is what kind of player he can become..
At just 16 years old, Barça’s path seems to be all about making him a franchise player.. Kubarsi did not have such a great evening after playing a very controversial role in the spot-kick, but he again left feeling like he had been a first-team player for many years. Fermin came on the field in the second half and immediately scored a goal, which in the end was not enough. Lamine and Kubarsi aim to become structural players for the next Barça; Fermin is an important player in the team who will fight for a place in the starting lineup.
Two Key Concerns
Barca didn’t do their homework on replacing Busquets and have been paying for it all season. Xavi failed to sign Zubimendi, his first choice, and ended up choosing Oriol Romeu, a “cheap” option that didn’t work out. Without Sergio, Barca lost stability in the midfield position.
Xavi ultimately found in Christensen the best option to balance the team, but he failed to achieve it one hundred percent at a key moment. He was suspended for the return match against PSG. And at the Bernabeu he played the first 45 minutes but still has an Achilles problem which is affecting his performance.
Another key position for the team to worry about is centre-forward. Lewandowski played a superb game in Paris but was not decisive in the second leg or at the Bernabeu. In three matches, the Pole has not scored a single goal, and his proposed replacement Vitor Roque has not played a single minute..
De Jong and Pedri: key players far from their best
Frenkie de Jong and Pedri made a huge effort to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League and the clash at the Bernabeu in the best conditions.. These two barely arrived and were the main characters, but their inaction was noted.
De Jong, injured at the Bernabeu, had to play as a central midfielder in the two matches against PSG and in the second half at the Bernabeu. A position in which you feel less comfortable because you have to take a more positional position.
We haven’t seen a better version of Pedri either.who, after several muscle injuries, find it particularly difficult to maintain continuity in his defensive work.
Arbitration decisions marking the season
In addition to the team’s football mistakes, Several referee decisions marked a tragic week for Barça. In some situations they could be interpreted, but they all ended up on the opposite side of the Blaugranas.
Against PSG, Araujo was sent off in a play where there was minor contact resulting in a sending off.. A decision that determined the outcome of the match as it left Barça with ten minutes to spare for many minutes. In the same match, Gundogan was also threatened with a penalty, which the referee ruled out.
In the classics, Soto Grande’s decisions were key, as he considered Lamine’s ball to miss the target, while Kubarsi’s actions against Lucas Vazquez were considered a penalty.