Why Barcelona vs Lyon is much tighter than anticipated

When the draws of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 came out, a big sigh of relief was the common reaction of all supporters of FC Barcelona. Their club had successfully avoided facing the heavyweights in Manchester United, Liverpool, among many other terrifying names.

But is it really a relief to face Lyon? This is the UEFA Champions League, and Cules know better than any other fan base, that every team that has qualified is more than capable of going through.

Why it will be an uphill task for FC Barcelona

Olympique Lyonnais v Manchester City - UEFA Champions League Group F

Olympique Lyonnais were the only unbeaten team in their group. They didn't lose to Pep Guardiola's sizzling Manchester City over 2 legs. Tanguy Ndombele, Bertrand Traore, Memphis Depay and Nabil Fekir are all players with a terrifying pace and great shooting ability. Knowing Barcelona's shaky defense and Pique's lack of pace, this is going to be a serious worry for Valverde.

To compound the problems for Barcelona, Luis Suarez's and Kevin Prince-Boateng's horror show against Valladolid is a cause of serious concern. Barcelona created all the chances but couldn't finish them, and such errors are unforgivable in the Champions League. To make matters worse, Messi's finishing too has been a shadow of the usual threat it normally causes for over three weeks.

The presence of a press resistant midfielder against a team like Lyon that likes to press high and launch voracious counters is a necessity. But Arthur's untimely injury has left Valverde in a big dilemma, as he will now have to start the relatively inexperienced Carles Alena in the big game. However, Arthur should be available for the second leg, which could prove to be a game changer.

With Nabil Fekir out by suspension(in the first game), Lyon will most probably play a 3–4–3 in attack, and a 4–5–1 in defence. This will effectively shut down passing areas for Barcelona, supress Jordi Alba's attacking threat, and make life for Messi and Dembele difficult.

How can Barcelona counter this

Barcelona have to play as a team to come out victorious

Though Lyon is great in counter attacks, they remain vulnerable to counter attacks themselves. They tend to lose the ball in the midfield quite cheaply, compared to most other sides. To take advantage of this, Barcelona must play a pacy counter-attacking game. Dembele is going to be one of the key players for the Blaugranes. Though Suarez provides a lot off the ball, his lack of pace will prove to be a liability. Malcom could be a serious option for Valverde to consider.

One wingback (Semedo preferably) has to play on a lower line, to break Lyon's counters. As usual, Messi is the biggest factor. Given his commitments to the Nou Camp regarding the UCL, he will definitely step his game up. Bruno Genesio has made it quite clear that Messi will be man-marked, but that's one of the most difficult tasks to perform for any player, because Messi keeps walking all over the pitch.

Alena's attacking game will be helpful, but he has to contribute to defence too. Unless the defence is a cumulative effort, Barcelona stand no chance in the first leg.

Clearly, there is no room for Valverde's moody Barcelona. All the players have to be sharp and energetic, which more often than not, they aren't. If you see a lazy performance, stay prepared for a shock elimination.

Valverde has proven to be a great tactician in Big games and hopefully, he can pull off a managerial masterclass when it is needed the most. One of the drawbacks of his contract's untimely extension is that he won't be under the pressure to deliver in order to save his job now.

Expect Barcelona to come out on top over the 2 legs put together, but they will definitely have their work cut out for them if they are going to come out of this fixture unscathed.