On Saturday, Barcelona was stunned 1-0 by Malaga at the Camp Nou. The loss snapped Barcelona’s 11-match winning streak and dropped them 4 points behind league leaders Real Madrid. With the league title now out of their control for the time being, just how vulnerable is Barca?
By the standards of most European clubs, Barcelona is having a great season. They’re second place in the league, up 3-1 on Villarreal after the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinal, and they just beat Manchester City in the first leg of the round of 16 in the Champions League. But as any Barcelona fan will tell you (repeatedly…whether you like it or not), Barca is no ordinary club. For a club that has produced some of the best, most beautiful football in the world over the last decade, with a trophy case full of silverware to show for it, this current run of form is simply not acceptable.
It is not just the recent history of success that has the club's supporters expecting more. Their front line is Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Luis Suárez, a murderer’s row that is as good or better than any other front line in the world. Having any ONE of these players on your squad should produce goals by the bushel, and yet a team with all three can’t score a goal against Malaga at home?
Barcelona's Gerard Pique hides his face in the goal after Malaga scored in a 1-0 win over the blaugrana. It's OK Gerard, Shakira is still there for you. Photo: fcbarcelona.com
Unfortunately, Suárez has not produced the splash that the world be expected following his £65 million (or more, accounts vary as to the actual sum) move from Liverpool over the summer. Of course, Suárez was suspended until late October for biting Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini at last Summer’s World Cup (it feels ridiculous just glossing over that with a single sentence). After making his debut on October 25th, Suárez has only managed 9 goals in 22 appearances in all competitions for Barcelona. In comparison, Suárez scored 31 times in 37 appearances for Liverpool in all competitions last season. It is not surprising there is some drop off in goals this season for Suárez, given the level of talent and other playmakers that are on the pitch for Barcelona. Liverpool had to rely heavily on him to score last season and with Neymar and Messi up front with him this season, the pressure to score goals is not as severe; their presence also restricts where Suárez can go and the time he gets on the ball right in front of goal. There’s little question that his work-rate remains first-class and his presence and runs off-the-ball open things up for Messi and Neymar, but 9 goals in 22 appearances is not what Barcelona expected when it paid £65 million for him, despite claims that he’s more of a team player now than ever before.
Another player that has not lived up to expectations based on past performances is Dani Alves. The Brazilian left back was considered by many to be the best left back in the world for many years, but his play this season has not lived up to that reputation. Malaga’s only goal at the weekend followed a clumsy clearance from Alves and ESPN gave him a dismal rating of only 3/10 for the match. Alves’s contract is up this summer, so there is a chance that he could leave on a free transfer for another club. There are rumors that Manchester United are prepared to sign him, but unless he picks up his game, he won’t be making much of a difference for the Red Devils.
And of course there is superstar Lionel Messi. Messi has garnered headlines this season by hinting for the first time that he is unhappy at the club and may want to leave, with Manchester City, Chelsea, and now PSG as rumored destinations. Despite the near impossibility of such a move under the Financial Fair Play rules (to the extent UEFA actually decides to enforce them, which I won’t hold my breath on), any discontent from their star is going to unnerve the Barcelona faithful. That being said, he has scored 37 goals in 34 appearances in all competitions this season, so obviously all the rumors aren’t affecting him too much.
But it’s not all doom and gloom at the Nou Camp. Barcelona is the favorite to advance to the quarterfinals of the Champions league, especially after beating Man City in the first leg of the round of 16, and they will not fear any of the squads that they may face going forward. And rest assured, fans of those other clubs want nothing to do with Barcelona in the next round. A deep run in the Champions League remains a distinct possibility.
While they are now 4 points behind league leaders Real Madrid, Barcelona still gets to play Real again this season and with a win, would reduce the gap to a single point. After that, winning one week while Madrid draws would be enough to put them on top. Madrid has had its own concerns at various points throughout this season, so their continued dominance is far from guaranteed. While there are reasons for fans of the Blaugrana to be nervous, this is no time to panic; Barcelona remains in all 3 competitions it entered and thus a potential treble could be in the cards. Until Barcelona starts crashing out of its cup competitions and falling further behind Real Madrid in the La Liga...Barca fans just need to calm down. You have Messi, Neymar, and Suárez. In the words of Aaron Rodgers, “R-E-L-A-X.”
Follow Mike Smith on Twitter @thefootiegent
Getting Barca fans to calm down is about as likely as getting them to be reasonable.
