There is a rumour going around in football at the minute – one that is slightly wide of the mark. More than a couple of people have questioned if reigning La Liga and European Champions Barcelona have lost their mojo, and if rival teams in Spain have finally learnt how to play them.
Now, Barca currently sit second in La Liga and have now gone 41 matches unbeaten at the Camp Nou, and have scored 39 goals at home this season, conceding none.
Strange then that people are questioning the credentials of the team, yet it is their away form that has made people really wonder if Barcelona’s time has been and gone, with nine points being picked up on the road out of a possible 18 – not good enough by a long shot.
Yet it is as much Barcelona’s own problems that has seen such a vast amount of points dropped as it is other teams both in La Liga and Europe ‘learning’ how to play them.
Yes, teams have finally cottoned on to the fact they cannot be allowed time and space in the middle of the park for their trade mark intricate passes, and if you close down their midfield trio, they will struggle, with their width solely coming from Dani Alves at times, and Messi being their main source of goals – stop Messi and you are more than half way to stopping Barcelona.
The form of David Villa has also been an issue with the player only managing to score 5 goals this campaign and is seemingly less prolific than usual.
However, it is as much to do with the fact that Barcelona on the road are shipping easy goals that should be prevented – the one against Getafe from a set piece is a prime example of this, and no disrespect to Cesc or Alexis Sanchez – both of whom are world class players – yet in the summer central defensive reinforcements were needed and Pep chose to ignore this – instead playing three at the back and when the three include Busquets and Mascherano you cannot be shocked to concede goals.
Even at the Camp Nou in the Champions League, we have seen examples of this, with the game against AC Milan being prime example of conceding sloppy goals – yet the return game at the San Siro showed Barca still have the edge over other power houses in European football.
It is also more than reasonable to suggest that the hunger has slightly gone from the Barcelona side, who have won everything in sight over the last few seasons and have been hailed as the best footballing side in the world.
Not to mention the resurgence of Mourinho’s Madrid, who are much more of a complete team and look like being more than capable to finally knock Barcelona off their perch.
To suggest a crisis at Barcelona or to say that teams in La Liga have finally learnt to play them is wide of the mark – they are still a world class team and more than capable of beating anyone on their day.
In a European context, teams have certainly not worked out how to beat Barcelona, and over a two legged game, even if they are prone to conceding goals, the chances are that they will simply outscore the opposition.
It is obviously natural to wonder if teams have finally unlocked the mythical team that seemed to be the Catalan giants, however, the case seems to be that they are still nearly as mesmerising as ever – Real Madrid are just going to prove this season that they are little bit better.
Written by Rebecca Knight for FootballfanCast.com
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