Barcelona in Crisis — ViewLogger

Another Bad Loss

Barcelona has been experiencing a notably poor run of form in the past few months. While recent La Liga results weren’t particularly bad, albeit being 9 points off the top, the performances have been terrible. It's quite surprising to witness Barcelona stringing together an array of bad performances without any sort of pressure being applied on the management team by the club's President or Sporting Director.

So have they hit a crisis point? Well, the embarrassing 4-1 loss suffered against Real Madrid, their ark rivals, have left the fans with dwindling patience, following such a humiliating defeat. This game really did summarise everything that’s wrong with the team this season, and if you’re an outsider who rarely watches Barcelona games but tuned into this one then you’ll have a good idea of how broken this team is at the moment.

Yes, I get it, it’s only a Supercopa game - the equivalent of a community shield. However, an El Clásico game is sometimes bigger than any domestic cup trophy and you can just about see that from how Real Madrid have approached the game. It's about defending the honor of the club, and if your team does not manage to get the result, the least you could do is to give your all on the pitch, showing the opposition that you're not there to simply be rolled over.

The Game

As soon as I saw the line up from Barcelona, my initial impression was riddled with questions about Xavi’s poor choice of personnel in the starting line up. Despite the pessimism, there was a part of me that was still hopeful given that our recent performances against Real Madrid, in the past couple of years, were more favourable to us than not. In the game, Xavi decided to play a double pivot with both Frenkie de Jong and İlkay Gündoğan at the base, which their job was to primarily protect the backline. Gündoğan was more flexible in his play where he would at times get into an advanced central position when the team was in attack. The 4-2-3-1 formation allowed Pedri to utilise the number 10 position in attacking areas though he would occasionally drop back to support the midfield during transitional plays. Both Sergi Roberto and Ferran Torres provided the team with width and Robert Lewandowski played in his usual position as a lone Striker. The only significant change to the backline was the swapping of positions between Jules Koundé and Ronald Araújo, a decision made by Xavi that proved to be awful. We will get into more detail on this later.

Barcelona are struggling with their offensive play. Despite Robert Lewandowski having his worst season in many years, both Sergi Roberto and Ferran Torres are simply not good enough and should not be starting for a club like Barcelona in 2024. It was clear to me, even before the game started, that both players lack creativity in wing plays. Sergi Roberto is only effective in providing additional control in midfield, and though he makes occasional runs into the box, this approach has yet again proven ineffective against bigger teams. Ferran Torres lacks the ability to beat players one-on-one from wide areas, which results in Lewandowski being isolated and without proper service in the opposition’s box.

The first goal came from Vinicius Junior. Barcelona played a high line with little pressure on the ball which allowed Jude Bellingham enough time and space to pick out a through ball in behind the Barcelona defence. Jules Kounde incorrectly anticipated that it would be a direct pass to Vinicius which pulled him out of position allowing the attacker a clean run towards the goal. Iñaki Peña failed to capitalise on Vinicius’ heavy touch towards the goal, as he was rooted to his spot. There was very little he could do to try and prevent the goal thereafter. There are two faults in this phase of play. Firstly, Barcelona ineffectively played a high line by not forcing Real Madrid into wider areas, allowing them enough time and space to create a chance from a central area. Secondly, Christensen was slow to react, which created a significant gap between Koundé and Balde. Secondly, Kounde’s reading of the game as a Centre Back has been poor lately despite him publicly announcing his preference for that position. Xavi made the mistake of putting Araujo in the Right Back position with the intent to stop Vinicius which proved to be effective in previous games. However, he failed to adapt to Real Madrid’s strategic plan of playing Vincius as a false winger who would invert into a Striker. The writing was on the wall when it was clear that Madrid were playing without a natural Striker.

Snapshot 1: the phase of play that led to Madrid’s first goal

The second goal followed a similar course of event. Barcelona played an extremely high line where two of their Defenders were comically in Madrid’s half. The goal originated from a straightforward pass by Carvajal. This time it was Rodrigo making the incisive run, however it was unclear whether it was Araujo who kept the attacker onside or if Rodrigo was simply behind the halfway line when the ball was played. Either way, it was a free run towards goal which allowed Rodrigo to square it to Vinicius and slot home another goal making it 2-0 to Madrid. The remainder of the game saw Real Madrid being more effective on the ball whilst Barcelona, having more ball possession, but running out of attacking ideas the more the game went on. The attacking players of João Félix, Lamine Yamal and Fermín López came on the 60th minute mark but were unable to influence the game. On the 71st minute, Araujo saw a second yellow card, sending him off which erupted the Barcelona bench; the only sign of aggression they’ve displayed the whole game. This forced Frenkie de Jong to play as a Centre Back to help prevent disrupting Barcelona’s structure.

Snapshot 2: the phase of play that led to the Madrid’s second goal

What does this mean for Xavi?

The situation does not look good for Xavi at the moment. There are rumours floating around speculating whether Xavi has lost the dressing room. It seems as though certain individual players have declined in quality; Araujo, Balde, Kounde, Pedri and Lewandowski all look a shadow of their former selves. Logic dictates that a player does not lose their quality overnight, so why aren’t these players performing to the best of their ability? As a general rule, it’s down to the manager to get the best out of his players and uplift their spirits. This is where Xavi must take responsibility!

Gündoğan, who won the treble with Manchester City last season, spoke out after the previous El Clasico game, criticising the Barcelona players for their reaction to the loss. He said that the manner in which Barça reacted to the defeat underscored the challenges they must overcome to contend for the championship this season.

"I have to be honest, not as much as I wish because I don't want to say something wrong, but I was in the dressing room and of course people are disappointed," the former City midfielder told LaLiga TV.

"But especially after such a big game and a result that is so unnecessary, I wish for more frustration, more anger and more disappointment. This is a little bit the problem.

"There has to be more emotion, especially when you lose and when you know you can perform better, do better in certain situations and you just don't react.

"It transfers to the pitch at the end of the day. We need to make a huge step in that because otherwise Real Madrid or even Girona are going to run away. I didn't come here to lose this type of game or to let a gap create."

Gündoğan’s take on the situation back then highlights the situation in the dressing room now. There is a lack of desire being shown by the Barcelona players. If the situation doesn't change drastically, it could be a very painful season for the fans. Xavi, as a club legend, deserves a great deal of respect from everyone involved with the club. However, it's important to remember that coaching and playing football are two completely different things and should not be conflated. Had someone other than Xavi been managing Barcelona, they might have been shown the door by now. Xavi should not receive special treatment or escape accountability. A change of some sort must be imminent!