Barcelona’s first game after their thumping at the hands of PSG in the Champions Leauge came against Leganes on matchday 23 of the La Liga. The Catalans hosted Leganes needing a win to keep the pressure on Real Madrid who will play Valencia on Wednesday.
In a fixture that many would have expected Barcelona to ease to victory, the visitors completely stunned the Camp Nou with a spirited performance. The crowd in the stadium were already in low spirits after the loss against PSG and Barcelona’s hapless performance certainly did not help.
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Yet again it was the brilliance of Lionel Messi and his associates Neymar and Suarez that gave Barcelona to goals. However, some spirited defending from Jeremy Mathieu and a Man of the Match performance from Marc-Andre Ter Stegen is what saved Barcelona from an embarrassing loss.
Here are the talking points from today’s game:
#1 Barcelona create a record by starting only one Spanish player for the first time in their La Liga history
It was only a few years ago that Barcelona boasted over half of the players from Spain’s World Cup-winning squad of 2010. Fast forward a few years, and Luis Enrique’s team has created a record by starting only one Spanish player in Sergi Roberto.
There were also as many French players (3 – Lucas Digne, Jeremy Mathieu and Samuel Umtiti) as there were La Masia graduates (3 – Lionel Messi, Sergi Roberto, Rafinha) in the Barcelona squad. This is a clear indicator that the Barcelona team under Luis Enrique has completely lost its identity and that could perhaps be the reason for their recent downfall.
Barcelona made some questionable decisions in the summer like the transfer of Paco Alcacer over Munir El Haddadi, Andre Gomes over Alen Halilovic and the reluctance to promote Nili or Palencia from the B team despite problems in right-back.
#2 Was Leganes too good or Barcelona too bad?
Taking nothing away from the spirited performance of Leganes at the Camp Nou, this game was certainly a case of Barcelona being poor rather than Leganes being too good to handle. The team placed 17th in La Liga were never going to be able to match up with the firepower of Barcelona and hence lost 2-1.
However, Luis Enrique needs to find an answer before PSG visit the Camp Nou or he can bid goodbye to his Barcelona job. His decisions were under fire yet again as he decided to substitute Rafinha – who was clearly the best player in midfield, for Denis Suarez, despite the 1-1 scoreline.
Sergi Roberto was yet again at fault for Barcelona’s goal while Andre Gomes and Ivan Rakitic had poor games yet again. Luis Suarez disappeared for a majority of the game after his assist for Messi’s goal and it only looked like Rafinha, Neymar and Messi were contributing to the attack for a majority of the game.
#3 Marc-Andre Ter Stegen saves the day for Barcelona
Barcelona’s hero yet again this season has been their goalkeeper. Be it Jasper Cillesen or Marc-Andre ter Stegen, the goalkeepers have had to step up with some important saves in the recent games to keep the Catalans season alive.
Barcelona went into the half-time break leading 1-0 despite having the same number of shots on target as Leganes – 3. The only reason none of Leganes’ shot didn't hit the back of the net was the brilliance of ter Stegen. In the second half, he made 2 more important saves to keep Barcelona alive.
While Leganes’ goal might seem like ter Stegen’s fault, it is unfair to blame the German goalkeeper as he had a Barcelona defender in his way and simply could not judge the shot. Barcelona will be glad that they have found a goalkeeper who they can bank on for many years to come.
#4 Leganes let down by their play in the final third
Yet another team has not taken anything against Barcelona because of their play in the final third. Leganes did extremely well to hold two lines of defence and also managed to trouble Barcelona’s midfield. Goalkeeper Iago made a few great saves to bail out Leganes on a few occasions in both halves.
However, the biggest let down for Leganes was their passing in the final third and finishing. Leganes started off like most small teams visiting the Camp Nou would – nervous and shaky. They soon realised that the Barcelona they are facing is bruised and quickly picked up their tempo.
Nabil El Zhar’s work rate was incredible and was unlucky not to equalise late in the game. While Guerrero did make a few threatening runs, he was unlucky to be tackled by Barcelona’s defenders on most of the occasions that he seemed to have a chance. A missed opportunity for Leganes to sum up their game.
#5 Barcelona’s midfield woes continue
Andre Gomes, Ivan Rakitic and Rafinha started the game in midfield for Barcelona and it looked like the Catalans had a non-existent midfield yet again. Thanks to the defensive nature of most visiting teams at Camp Nou, it seemed like the Catalans were dictating play as the game started, but as Leganes opened up, Andre Gomes and Ivan Rakitic looked hapless.
Rafinha was the only positive in midfield for Barcelona as the Brazillian youngster dazzled the Camp Nou crowd on quite a few occasions with his quick feet and sharp thinking. Andre Gomes was deployed in Sergio Busquets’ holding midfielder role and yet against disappointed. It seems like Luis Enrique is adamant on playing Gomes there despite his inability.
It is yet another case of a player losing out due to poor tactics and the Portuguese was unfairly booed by the Camp Nou crowd who also cheered his substitution. Ivan Rakitic misplaced at least a dozen of easy passes and his final balls were nothing close to Barcelona standards. A lot needs to be done in the midfield if Barcelona wants to stay alive in the League.
