It is known by everybody that Barcelona are going through a difficult season. With Messi unmotivated and determined to leave the club, the Catalonian giant is going through a moment of transition that has been leaving a not very good trail along the way.
Last Saturday, the Catalan team even dominated the match against Valencia, but ended up just drawing against the “Bats”. With that, they still remain outside the top 4 on the league table, being the 5th place and with eight points less than Atletico Madrid, the current leader.
Their game against Valencia for La Liga
After yet another frustrating game at Camp Nou, which ended 2-2, the only thing to celebrate at Barca is the historic milestone reached by Lionel Messi. The Argentine scored one of the goals of the game and is now alongside Pele as a player who scored more goals for a single club in official matches.
The Catalan team, however, certainly didn’t play their best football. They even had (much) more possession of the ball, were able to shoot many times more than the opponent, were not able to leave with the victory and lost the opportunity to get closer to the leaders of the championship.
Whose fault is it?
In particular, some names have been cited as negative highlights of Barca. And the bomb seems to be even on coach Ronald Koeman.
Miralem Pjanic
Pjanic lives strange days at Barca. Since he left Juventus for the Catalan team, the Bosnian has never been able to take center stage in the midfield, as many expected him to do it.
Honestly, the player has not participated a lot during matches, even when he has good chances of showing his skills. Both his creating and finalization are not good at the moment and he certainly is not playing at the same level as he used to at the Old Lady back in Italy.
Philippe Coutinho
Coutinho is another difficult case to understand. The Brazilian was living an amazing moment back at Liverpool when he was sold to Barcelona as one of the most expensive players in the club’s history.
His beginning at the Catalan club was okay, but it didn’t take long until his performances were not the same as what was expected of him. Because of that, he went on a loan to Germany’s giant Bayern Munich.
The most amazing thing is that, playing for the Bavarians, Coutinho showed some good performances and even had an important role in some of Bayern’s matches. He even scored in the Champions League match against Barcelona themselves.
But now that he is back at the Catalan club, it seems that he is not being able to show his skills once again. Maybe there is something wrong with the shirt he is using.
Antoine Griezmann
A name that has also cost a lot of money to Barca is the French Griezmann. The striker may be the one that frustrated the fans the most. The fact that he was bought for more than 100 million euros makes it worse.
We all remember how he used to play during his years back in Atletico Madrid, even though he was not able to win a Champions League with the Colchonero club. Griezmann had amazing skills and was decisive for Atleti in many matches, scoring amazing goals or giving important assists who led the team to important victories.
Even though it is not possible to say that Griezmann is not trying to play, his performances are far from what was expected of him. The World Champion with France is showing a lot of will, but he is just not being able to show good football, as most of Barca’s squad.
Ronald Koeman
Maybe the name that has been on the fan’s mouth a lot is from the manager Ronald Koeman. The Dutch – who used to play for Barcelona – has still not convinced the fans while managing the Catalan team and has had some difficulties to get good results with the club.
Koeman is also showing some controversial decisions. During the last match, against Valencia, he chose to start the match with Araujo and Migueza, two young players, as the defensive duo, while letting Lenglet on the bench.
It is true that choosing to trust in Uruguayan player Araujo paid off, as he scored one of the goals of the game, but the Spanish press and also the fans of the club questioned his decision of letting Lenglet outside the match.
Conclusion
Things are not that good for Barcelona right now. In the Champions League, where they played in the same group as Italian Juventus, Barca were not able to get the first position and ended up in pot B during the draw.
Due to that, the Catalan club will have a difficult match already at the round of 16 against Paris Saint-Germain. It will be an important moment to show their strength.
In the Spanish League, Barcelona are in the 5th position, eight points behind the leader Atletico Madrid. However, the club has still just 13 matches while Atleti have 14.You can also follow bets and predictions through the bookmaker 22bet apk at any time.
There is still time for Barcelona to fight back and even leave the season with a title, as football can be unpredictable and surprising. However, it may be necessary to work hard on the next transfer window, not only selling some players but also trying to find important names to be part of the squad.
According to the Spanish press, there are already some players that will probably leave the club during the Winter Transfer Window.
Barcelona’s next appointment is on Tuesday (22), against Real Valladolid, for the matchday 15 of the Spanish La Liga.