Barcelona, The weeks pass and Barcelona still
haven’t fixed their defensive problems. That was shown up time and
again when Betis arrived at the Camp Nou last Sunday.
“It can’t be that the rivals come here and score four goals,” Arturo Vidal
said after the game. It’s no longer just a blip, because the numbers
speak of the team’s tendency to let in so many goals although that
doesn’t imply that the games are lost. The dynamic of defensive
fragility is the most worrying aspect.
Barcelona are one of the most successful teams in LaLiga
Santander, but having let in 18 goals in 12 league games, only
Levante, Athletic, Celta, Rayo and Huesca have conceded more.
These stats contrast with those of last season, in which the
Catalans almost went unbeaten.
For over 40 years, Barcelona haven’t conceded so many by this
point of the campaign. Going back to the 1974/75 season to find the
last league season in which the blaugranes had let in 18 goals by the
end of the 12th match day.
It’s become a habit for the Catalans to go behind on the
scoreboard in matches.
Maybe they’ve managed to turn most games around, but the
fact is that this club is no longer a stranger to losing, something
extraordinary for a team of this size.
Of the 18 official commitments that Ernesto Valverde’s side
have played so far in 2018/19, eight have seen them behind at some
point. In half, they ended up winning, in three they finished drawing
and in a single occasion, last Sunday against Betis, they ended up
losing.
When looking for reasons, the plague of injuries, specifically in
the centre-back position, springs to mind.
That’s forced the coach to squeeze to the maximum out of Pique
and Lenglet.
Another noteworthy issue is the problem on the wings. Because of
the tendency of their wing-backs to join the attack, Barcelona have
often come unstuck, and the game against Betis was a good example,
the Spanish MARCA newspaper reported.
Source: Oman News Agency