Five observations from Barcelona's 1-1 draw with Valencia

FC Barcelona failed to capitalize on Real Madrid’s loss to Deportivo Alaves on Saturday, only holding Valencia to a draw at the Mestalla, thereby losing the chance to go top.

Ezequiel Garay nodded the hosts ahead inside just two minutes, and Los Che had chances to move further ahead before Lionel Messi equalized for the Blaugrana in stunning fashion from 25 yards.

The stalemate means that Barcelona is now winless in four La Liga matches, as they failed to build momentum from their impressive 4-2 win over Tottenham in the Champions League.

Barcelona moved up to second place in the league, one point behind Sevilla who they face after the international break.

The pressure would begin to mount on Ernesto Valverde, as his side are struggling in their attempt to defend the League Title they won in convincing fashion last season.

Lionel Messi was once more the star of the show, while Valencia’s poor run of form continued, as the match provided excitement and intrigue for 90 minutes. Here are five observations from the stalemate at the Mestalla.

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#5 Barcelona is still heavily reliant on Messi

Messi was once more Barcelona's saviour

Lionel Messi is arguably the greatest player in the history of the game. It, therefore, comes as no surprise that his team would be built around him, as the Argentine’s superior talent means that he can singlehandedly decide the outcome of matches on his own.

Barcelona has benefitted immensely from building the team around him, as the club has won a total of 32 titles since the 31-year-old wore their colours, including four Champions League titles and nine La Liga crowns.

It has been the same all these years, and as evidence shows so far, he will continue to be the difference maker. On Wednesday in the Champions League, Messi was the star of the show, as he took it upon himself to put Tottenham to the sword, contributing with a finely taken brace, as well as having a hand in the other two goals.

Against Valencia, Messi was once again Barcelona’s creative hub, in addition to being their chief attacking threat and scoring the equalizer. He dropped deep to try and influence proceedings living up to his status as one of the world’s premier playmakers, which has come to the fore ever since the departures of Xavi and Iniesta from the Barcelona midfield.

Lionel Messi is an all-time football great, and for as long as Barcelona continues to build around him, they would be successful if Messi steps up to the plate.

However, for all of his otherworldly abilities, Messi is still very much human, who is not immune from the odd underperformance or two. Every time this happens, Barcelona is bound to suffer as has been the case in the past Champions' Leagues, where Messi has strangely gone missing in the quarter-finals of the last three seasons, the result being that Barcelona has got knocked out at the same stage consecutively.

#4 Mestalla continues to be a hoodoo ground for Barcelona

Barcelona has drawn five of their last six visits to Mestalla in La Liga

The Mestalla has been one of the more difficult grounds in the league for Barcelona in recent seasons.

Prior to Sunday’s visit, four of the last five matches between Barcelona and Valencia have ended in 1-1 draws. The sole victory came in a 3-2 triumph in October 2016, where a very late Lionel Messi penalty handed the Blaugrana the victory having been behind and out-played for most of the match.

Coach Ernesto Valverde described Barcelona’s visits to the Mestalla as complicated, and he was to be proven right. Despite their poor run of form this season, Valencia found a way to up their game last night as they always seem to do at home whenever Barcelona comes visiting.

#3 Arthur could be the next great Barcelona midfielder

Arthur has drawn praise for his performances for FC Barcelona

Barcelona once had arguably the greatest midfield in football history, as the mythical combination of La Masia graduates, Busquets, Iniesta and Xavi, was so effective that it reaped immense dividends for club and country.

Xavi is widely hailed as a pass master, while Iniesta’s technicality is second to none, and together, they dominated opponents in midfield in a manner not seen before or since then.

Xavi departed the club in 2015, and since then, the club has yearned for a midfielder of his abilities, as the Blaugrana midfield suffered immensely from his departure, lacking its usual control brought about by Xavi’s effectiveness in ball distribution and retention.

Step in Arthur. The 22-year-old was signed from Gremio for a fee believed to be in the region of 40 from Gremio in March, with the player making his full transfer at the opening of the summer window in June.

He found playing time hard to come by early on in the season and made his first start in the Champions League game against Tottenham where he earned rave reviews for his impressive performances for Barcelona in the middle of the park.

He was rewarded with a start in La Liga against Valencia, and the Brazilian once more shone through, drawing comparisons with two Barcelona greats for the similarity in his distribution with that of Xavi, as well as his technique with Iniesta’s.

Against Los Che, Arthur attempted 142 passes, which was the most by a player in a La Liga away game since Xavi himself attempted 148 against Levante in 2012. Of his 142, 135 (95%) were completed, which is the highest by a player this season in La Liga.

Although it might be too early to thrust him into the pedestals occupied b the Barcelona legends, if Arthur should continue with this trajectory, then Barcelona would have found its heir to Xavi’s throne.

#2 Valencia’s profligacy could cost them

Batshuayi missed a host of chances for Valencia

Valencia currently occupies the 16th spot in La Liga, and are currently winless at home in all competitions, posting a record 6 draws in La Liga, which is the highest across Europe’s top five leagues.

At first glance, this stat would suggest Valencia have been conservative or outplayed in most of their matches, but nothing could be further from the truth. Valencia has largely held their own in most of these matches including tonight’s and was let down by poor finishing.

Against United in midweek, Valencia dominated for large spells of the match, and had opportunities to fashion good scoring opportunities on numerous occasions, but were victims of poor decision making in the final third, with winger Goncalo Guedes, in particular, being the chief culprit.

Against Barcelona, Los Che was back to their usual bad habits, as they took the lead early on in the match, and should have been at least three goals up before the 15-minute mark but for some poor finishing by their forwards, especially Batshuayi.

Valencia would have had high hopes on building on their impressive league campaign last season and would be disappointed with their current position of having to battle relegation. Hence, Marcelino’s priority should be to figure out a plan to get his forwards firing on all cylinders, if not the club would be worse off for it.

#1 The defence remains an issue

Pique was at fault for Valencia's goal

Barcelona’s long-standing tradition of being dominant in midfield meant that their defence was rarely put in the spotlight. The control exerted by their midfield meant so much pressure was always put on opponents, hence the ball was almost always in the opposition half.

With the departures of key midfielders and forwards, Barcelona’s attack is no longer what it used to be, and their defence is now put under much more pressure than it ever has before.

Gerard Pique is the most experienced player in Barca’s backline, but the Catalan has never been a great defender, and his case is not helped by the increased spotlight being placed on him due to the absence of Samuel Umtiti.

Thomas Vermaelen was asked to deputize for the Frenchman in the 2-1 defeat to the then-bottom-placed Leganes. The Belgian alongside his Spanish partner were at fault for both goals scored by the hosts at the Estadio Municipal de Butarque.

Vermalen was replaced by new signing Simon Lenglet in midweek, but the Frenchman did not fare much better in the victory over Tottenham, leading to the return of the 32-year-old former Arsenal player against Valencia.

Once again, the defending at the Mestalla was poor, with the pair directly involved in Garay’s opener, as they failed to effectively clear their lines from Dani Parejo’ corner. They were also guilty of some slack defending which carved open multiple chances for Valencia, and Barcelona would have been severely punished if their hosts had been more clinical.

Barcelona’s defence has been a grey area, and the club has expended some tangible resources in fixing it, including the purchases of players such as Chygrinski and Carares, as well as youth product Marc Bartra, all to no avail.

Most title winning sides are built on great defences, and Barcelona’s superior attack has gotten them by all these years. However, the decline in their attack has cast a negative light on their defence, and this is an issue which, if not fixed, could prove calamitous in their quest for glory this season.