Barcelona’s second successive 2-2 draw will give Pep Guardiola much to ponder this morning. To squander a lead once is careless, to do so twice in the space of three days is unforgivable. This may seem harsh, but these are the exalted standards Barcelona have set themselves. Ever the perfectionist, Guardiola will know this and will be trying to find a solution to his team’s defensive frailties as quick as possible.
The Barca manager is a fiercely intense man to the point of obsession and while the rest of us might write off Barca last two results as a mere blip, he will be thinking his team can ill afford even the slightest slip ups. Those of us who have charted the meteoric rise of Barca under Pep will know they often start slow. Think back to 2008 where Barca made their worst start in years, only to end up in May with the treble.
We all remember newly promoted Hercules going to the Nou Camp last year and pulling off a memorable victory and Rubin Kazan doing likewise a year earlier. Indeed the Catalans fitness regime consists of peaks and troughs, designed to ensure they are at maximum capacity for the big games. It is a tactic which has worked wonders in the last few years, but Guardiola didn’t become one of the world’s finest managers by resting on his laurels.
His decision to field a weakened team against Real Sociedad initially looked like a masterstroke, but by the fulltime he was being openly criticised. As expected he played a stronger team against Milan but still opted to pair Busquets and Mascherano in the centre of defence. It was a decision which backfired, with Busquets being embarrassed by Pato and in general looking as flimsy as a paper cup. It`s difficult to know what Busquets provides in the centre beyond composure, many have pointed out that Abidal would have been a more natural choice to play there.
This all goes back to Guardiola`s refusal to bring in another centre back and rely on his ball playing midfielders. Certainly Barcelona`s main method of defending is keeping possession, and we have seen them triumph in plenty of crunch games with a makeshift defence. However you get the feeling eventually they will be fatally caught out.
Puyol`s return gives a much needed boost, but the fact is the caveman is no longer the player he was. Their captain fantastic has been ravaged by injuries and in any case it will take him a while before he approaches anything resembling match fitness. The return of Gerard Pique cannot come quick enough, but Guardiola had his chance to ease the burden on his defensive duo but declined to do so.