3 Things We Learned: Villarreal CF vs FC Barcelona

Barcelona struggled to a 1-1 draw against El Submarino Amarillo in a match with questionable refereeing decisions.

Potency

A recurring theme in key matches, with this match being the latest example. Barcelona always create chances, but the issue seems to be putting them away. Focusing on the front three due to amount of influence they have on Barcelona’s attack. Each of the front three is world-class, and have each proved their goal-scoring prowess in the past in terms of quality and quantity. Therefore, the issue is one of mindset rather than technique. Luis Suárez and Neymar seem to be the culprits for this rather than Lionel Messi because the Argentinian maestro has come up clutch multiple times so far this season.

This mindset is a double-edged sword. The confidence they have in the team as well as the creativity at the heart of it means they know they will make chances, so they are confident in their ability to win the match all the way to the end. This has allowed them to score so many late goals in the last few seasons. However, this also seems to cause the lack of potency because they don’t have the belief that each chance will be their last. They need to harness the confidence in the team while at the same time rediscover the killer instinct which made them the most feared front three in the world.

Two Points Dropped

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This result has to be seen as two points dropped rather than a point gained even within the context of the last-minute masterpiece free-kick from Messi. Barcelona have to assume that Real Madrid will continue their current form throughout the season. They can’t afford to rely on a major slip-up from their rivals. The gap between the two currently stands at five points, but Real have a game in hand. Keeping up with Real is key because it gives them added pressure to deal with which might cause them to start making mistakes, and affect their ability to grind out results.

Even though this result has caused Barça to fall further behind, there is two points that are in their favour. Firstly, they drew 2-2 in this fixture last season. Secondly, this is the third year in a row that they haven’t won their opening league fixture of the year.

Next: Villarreal vs Barcelona Match Review

Defensive Frailty

Barcelona’s system naturally makes them susceptible to conceding due to its reliance on playing out from the back. Nonetheless, they have been conceding more than in previous seasons. They are conceding precisely a goal a game on average. This puts added pressure on the attackers because they can’t rely on grinding out a 1-0 result due to the leaky defence. At this stage last season they had conceded fifteen goals, and in the season before that, eight. This shows a marked increase, and now means that what would usually be wins are now draws and potential draws are now becoming losses. This has substantially impacted their league form, and is part of the reason why they are so far behind Real.

The main reason behind this is personnel changes as Barcelona have invested in youth. Sergi Roberto has finally been able to establish a place in the squad due to Dani Alves leaving to join Juventus. Also, Luis Enrique decided to invest in Samuel Umtiti due to the potential and maturity he showed at Euro 2016 as well as Lucas Digne due to the terrific club season he had. Naturally, this has led to issues as players get used to the unique system that Barcelona have. This means that the current period can be seen as transitional, which Barcelona will benefit from in the future. However, this may come at the cost of silverware this season depending on how quickly the players adapt.