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We are almost two months into the latest La Liga season and Barcelona's woes continue. Their current state proves that the Catalan giants were indeed massively dependent on their former captain Lionel Messi.
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Barcelona, who are undergoing a transition period, are probably enduring the worst period in the club's 121-year history. The dream team lost their star players in quick succession. Carles Puyol, Xavi and Andres Iniesta, among many others, are no longer at the club.
However, Messi's presence was enough for the club to deal with their senior players' departures. The Argentine successfully carried the club forward by teaming up with the newbies and the remaining players. However, his shocking departure last summer was the final nail in the coffin for the Blaugrana.
Barcelona are currently ninth in the Liga table. They are also bottom of their UCL group with 0 points and have achieved just one win from their last six games. And with the recent loss against Atletico Madrid, Barcelona have hit a new low. It was the third game in a row where the Catalan giants failed to score against Diego Simeone's men.
On the same note, let's take a look at five Barcelona players who underperformed in their clash against Atletico Madrid.
#5 Philippe Coutinho
The Barcelona faithful have once again bestowed their best hopes upon Philippe Coutinho this season. Coutinho endured a below par first half, but the Brazilian bounced back to perform better in the second.
A switch in position helped him make the most of his game. However, his efforts weren't fruitful as Coutinho couldn't find the back of the net despite coming close on the hour mark.
Despite dropping into pockets and finding gaps, the 29-year-old wasn't of great benefit in the final third. Coutinho fired four attempts on towards goal but only one of them reached the target to be grasped by Jan Oblak.
#4 Memphis Depay
One cannot really blame Memphis Depay for underperforming. The Dutch striker is taking his time to fit into Leo Messi's shoes, which certainly isn't an easy job to do.
Depay was constantly on the ball and gave his everything for the team against Rojiblancos. However, he seemed to be a victim of Koeman's formation and tactical setup. Apart from a lack of support, Depay himself lacked creativity and his finishing touch during the match.
The same made it easy for Jose Maria Gimenez, who was marking the Dutchman throughout the game. Depay, who played for all 90 minutes, created two decent chances but registered only one shot which was off target.
#3 Oscar Mingueza
Barcelona defender Oscar Mingueza was largely successful in dealing with Yannick Carrasco. However, he failed when it came to standing up against Atletico Madrid's combined attacking unit.
Mingueza played a role in both the goals conceded by his side. However, he got almost no help from his fellow defenders, which made it much worse for the wingback.
The 22-year-old was constantly on his toes and aided his forwards in proceeding with the attack. However, Mingueza couldn't find the back of the net nor could he help his teammates do so. He was substituted in the 75th minute making way for Luuk de Jong.
He left the pitch without too many impressive numbers in his stat book.
#2 Ronald Araujo
Ronald Araujo found himself out of position for most of the game against Atletico Madrid. One such mistake helped Joao Felix find Thomas Lemar, who was left unmarked. The Uruguayan defender was high up the pitch and left acres of space for Lemar and Luis Suarez to exploit.
The end result saw Barcelona trailing by two goals to nil by halftime. Despite having a strong aerial presence, Araujo couldn't be of much help on the ground. He was a confused figure who was exploited by the Atletico Madrid forwards, especially Joao Felix.
Despite being miles away from where the action was taking place, on most occasions, Araujo played until the last whistle. He registered an incredible pass success rate of close to 98%.
However, the centre-back wasn't impressive in terms of defensive play and often ended up losing two of his five ground duels.
#1 Nico Gonzalez
Barcelona's defense went to sleep against Atletico Madrid and the same was exploited to the fullest by their opponents. It was quite evident that Diego Simeone urged his players to go all guns blazing in attack.
This left Barcelona's defenders in shambles and unfortunately, Nico Gonzalez was often at the receiving end. The 19-year-old La Masia graduate looked lost while trying to cope up with the pace of Thomas Lemar, Rodrigo de Paul and Koke. He also receivedth little help from the players around him.
Gonzalez was substituted at half-time for Sergi Roberto to replace him. Post the match, fans and pundits held Barcelona manager Ronaldo Koeman responsible for putting the inexperienced youngster under massive pressure.
Gonzalez failed to close the gap between Suarez and Thomas Lemar during an Atletico Madrid attack, which eventually led to their first goal.
Let us know your 5 most underperforming Barcelona players from last evening in the comments section.
