3 Things We Learned: FC Barcelona vs Málaga CF

Barcelona were held to a 0-0 draw by the Andalusians.

Missing Messi

Prior to kick-off, Lionel Messi was pulled out of the squad due to vomiting. The team lacked his killer instinct and creativity against such a well-drilled side as well as an inspired Carlos Kameni. Unfortunately, his absence being confirmed so close to kick-off meant that they couldn’t prepare for it. However, Barcelona need to have a plan for when Messi isn’t available which could include making Neymar the centerpiece. As he gets older, the Argentinian will miss more games due to the physical demands of the game getting the best of his body. Unfortunately, as much as I hate to admit it, there will be a future which includes Barcelona without Messi, and long-term planning needs to start now.

Granted this was a bit of an anomaly because it was illness, which can’t be helped, but it does highlight a major issue. Without Messi, they struggle to break open an in-depth defence even though they have plenty of attacking tools available. A lot of their chances yesterday came from set-pieces, and opportunism which is worrying. The lack of luck as well as dubious referee decisions compounded the problems. Hopefully this turns out to be an anomaly rather than a vision of a scary future.

Málaga Defensive Stability

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As much as I want to highlight Barcelona shortcomings, I have to mention Málaga’s resilience. It wasn’t a vintage performance from the Catalans. However, the fact that the Andalusians didn’t let them score is still impressive. It’s no coincidence either that the Málaga have only conceded three goals in the last five matches against Barça. They restricted Barça’s ability to create clear-cut chances, and even when they did get through they had to get past the barrier that was Kameni. This came at the expense of their attacking threat which offered little for the Barcelona defense to deal with. Nonetheless, they will be happy with the point. Hopefully Barcelona learn from this defeat because this could easily become a blueprint for how to take points off them otherwise. Although, in all fairness, most teams don’t get to play against a Barcelona lacking Messi.

BARCELONA, SPAIN – NOVEMBER 19: Carlos Kameni of Malaga reacts at the on the match during the La Liga match between FC Barcelona and Malaga CF at Camp Nou stadium on November 19, 2016 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Manuel Queimadelos Alonso/Getty Images) /

Home Form

So far this season Camp Nou hasn’t been much of a fortress. Three times teams have breached the defences and come away with points. Strangely enough, Barcelona have actually been better away from this home, in the league, this season. This poor form has contributed to them having the worst start to the season in nearly ten years. If they can address this home form issue then they stand in good stead for the rest of the season.

Continuing with the theme of previous seasons does provide some relief. In 2008 they had 29 points at this stage, and in 2014 they had 28. That’s only three and two points more than they have now respectively. Also, in the 2014/15 season they were slow to get going, but turned into a powerhouse in the second half of the season. This was mostly due to the M-S-N partnership, which is still together.

Therefore, it’s still perfectly possible for them to have a great season. Especially seen as they are only four points off Real Madrid, and are top of their Champions League group. On top of this, they have shown greatness in flashes this season with the win against Sevilla, in the league, being a great example. They just need to harness the special atmosphere of the Camp Nou, and use it to their advantage especially with el Clásico coming up.