Barça returns to training this Sunday with just enough time to regain strength and think about the most urgent adjustments that Xavi Hernández needs to make for the Champions League clash against Porto after the painful draw against Rayo Vallecano. The Blaugranas have everything they need to reach the round of 16 of the competition, but a setback against the Portuguese side would only add to Can Barça’s uneaseon the field, on the bench and in the stands.
The first half of the group stage went flawlessly for Barça, with a win over Antwerp (5-0) and narrow but important victories against Porto (0-1) and Shakhtar (2-1). But in the second game against the Ukrainians, the Blaugranas showed some of the deficits that had been troubling them in recent weeks and which brought them their first defeat in Europe (0-1).
Applied to the league, the numbers are overwhelming. On matchday 14 of the last 2022/23 league, in which Barça won the title, Xavi Hernández’s team was at the top with 37 points, 6 more than in the current one. The defeat in the classic (1:2) is not a mitigating factor, as the same thing happened a year ago, albeit in this case at the Santiago Bernabéu (3:1).
Six shock measures for Barça
There are six shock measures that seem essential for a realignment of the team, which also include the return of players like Gündogan, Araujo or Frenkie de Jong himself:
- Close the gate again. In the 2022/23 league, ter Stegen kept 11 clean sheets in 14 appearances. He currently has 6 clean sheets in 13 appearances, and his teammate Iñaki Peña also failed to score against Vallecas despite his good performance.
- Control the start of games. Including the duel against Rayo, Barça’s rivals were ahead in 6 of the 14 league games played. Villarreal, Celta, Mallorca, Granada, Alavés and the Vallecano team have forced Xavi’s team to look for comebacks that in some cases were not completed. In all of these games, the rivals were already ahead before the break. Bryan Zaragoza, who scored two goals in Granada in the 1st and 29th minutes, and Omorodión, who scored in just a few seconds (1 minute) against Alavés, took the problem to the extreme.
- Be more competitive again as a visitor. In the last league, Barça had won 6 of its games, only the aforementioned defeat against Madrid – scoring 16 goals and conceding 5 (3 against Real). In this championship they have already accumulated 4 draws, although they have not yet lost away at the Estadi Olímpic (3 wins).
- Reshuffle the midfield with Pedri and De Jong. The great strikers have tipped the titles in Barça’s favor in recent decades, but the foundation of the Blaugrana’s success is the collective play that their midfield has produced. The injuries have conditioned the engine room and continue to affect it (Gavi’s absence). But it is urgent that Xavi puts it back in the hands of the recovered Pedri and De Jong, Gündogan’s help and Fermín’s help. Barça lacked football.
- The goal must belong to everyone. The striker’s performance was also affected by injuries, but not exclusively. Joao Félix (3 goals) has not scored in the league since September 16th (Betis) and since September 19th in the Champions League (Antwerp): he has played 12 games without scoring. This is not the only case, as Rapinha (2) has not celebrated a goal since September 26 against Mallorca. Lamine Yamal scored his only goal against Granada on October 8th. Ferran Torres (5) contributed two important goals in Europe but has not scored in the league since September 16 (Betis).
- More balls for Lewandowski. Robert has 7 goals, compared to 13 last season. It is obvious that the ankle injury (missed against Granada and Athletic Club) has affected the performance of the Polish striker, who, on the other hand, has not yet reached his optimal point of form. But it is also evidence that he receives far fewer balls near the opponent’s goal. He only shot on goal once against Rayo, although he forced Lejeune’s own goal. But he failed to score against Real Sociedad; He managed this once against Madrid and twice against Mallorca. Robert doesn’t need too much to “moisten” because Against Alavés he scored three times and scored two goals; He repeated his performance against Celta; and against Betis he sent 1 of the 3 correct balls into the net, but also gave 2 assists. If he doesn’t get into the game, he can’t score.