Pique and Lenglet can’t defend like before.
Players are the same, but the results are different. What could it mean? Barcelona players can’t defend like before. Blaugrana has conceded nine goals in 5 rounds. It’s unusual for a team like Barcelona as they have Pique (true wall) and Ter Stegen who can save any shot. All the defenders lack focus. Four starting defenders are playing badly. Pique played with hand in the penalty area, and because of a penalty kick, Barcelona lost two vital points in the third round. Semedo played poorly in the penalty area and got a foul. Ter Stegen was the main reason why Dortmund could not convert that penalty kick, and that’s why Blaugrana took 1 point from Germany.
Home matches V Away matches
Barcelona can’t win away games this season. The team played four official away matches since August but could not win any of them. Furthermore, Barcelona lost two of those five matches, and two were a goalless draw.
Barcelona had two home matches in La Liga already. In both games, Blaugrana destroyed their competitors. Valverde’s team won those matches with the same result: 5-2;
Barcelona is an average team without Lionel Messi
Latest results mean one thing – Barcelona can’t play good without Messi. Some experts believe that Barcelona is perfect at home, but still, they can’t play tactically correct football.
We believe that Barcelona is not the same without Messi. Yes, Lionel is the best player, and any team will look different with him, but a club like Barcelona should rely on one player. There are world-class players like De Jong, Pique, Griezmann, Suarez, and Dembele. As it seems, Barcelona is adapted to Messi and suffer a lot without him.
Griezmann needs more time.
Antoine Griezmann joined Barcelona this summer from Atletico Madrid. There were rumors about his transfer from 2018. Messi expected his move to Barcelona in the summer of 2018, but Griezmann created vlog series (video series) where he explains the reason of staying in Madrid. Today, Messi is a bit disappointed in Antoine as he needed Frenchman last year.
Barcelona focused a lot on Griezmann’s transfer, and somehow they have lost Neymar despite Brazilian’s clear will to join Messi again.