Barcelona are not serious Champions League contenders

Barcelona’s performances away in the Champions League continue to leave a lot to be desired especially after they beat Slavia Prague by hook or by crook.

Barcelona cannot be considered serious Champions League title contenders if they continue to produce performances like the one against Slavia Prague.

The Catalans came away with a 2-1 win but suffered throughout the entirety of the match. A fortunate own goal by the home side turned out to be the difference between the two sides.

But Slavia Prague deserved at least a point, if not the win, against a Barcelona side that were second best and whose manager had no idea how to fix them. Performances like these are now the norm for a side who no longer is able to control a game.

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For a team that boasts the likes of Messi, Suarez, Griezmann, and Dembélé, scoring away from the Camp Nou still seems like an impossible task. The goal that Messi scored was the first away goal for the club since last season against PSV Eindhoven. Again, for a side like Barcelona, that is unacceptable.

The players know it as well. Aside from a few quick words on the sideline after the game, the majority of them did not want to speak. The ones who did acknowledged their poor performance.

“I’m angry because we didn’t perform as we know we should. At least we’ve got the three points, which is always important, but we also need to talk about a few things,” Ter Stegen said. “It’s something we need to talk about between ourselves. Not in public. There are things we need to improve but I’d prefer to talk with those who were out on the pitch first.”

Ter Stegen was named Man of the Match and deservedly so. Had it not been for his interventions, Barcelona would have ended up losing the game.

Ernesto Valverde’s side have been second best in all three of their Champions League games so far. They would have lost against Dortmund had Ter Stegen not saved the penalty by Marco Reus. Had Inter Milan been more clinical up front they would have won that game at the Camp Nou.

If things had gone just a bit differently, we could be talking about a Barcelona team that is last in their group.

Fortunately for the club, they currently sit atop their group and are more than likely to qualify to the knockout rounds. Based on their form both at home and on the road, that is as far as they will go.

Playing the way they have been is not conducive to winning a European title. The opponents get tougher once the group stage is over and any team with a halfway decent finisher is going to put those chances away.

Barcelona need to improve in all areas on the pitch. Their defense looks very unorganized when defending and the midfield is not providing any cover at all. Slavia Prague bypassed them with ease.

Lionel Messi is always going to be the difference maker up front but teams can plan for him because Luis Suarez simply cannot score an away goal. If he is not scoring then he is of no use to the team because his touches on the ball are poor, he does not provide link-up play, and does not track back.

Antoine Griezmann, for all the criticism he is facing, at least helps out defensively but he has to do more considering the amount spent on his signing. His compatriot, Ousmane Dembélé, is on his third year at Barcelona and still makes the same mistakes.

Next. Barcelona get undeserving away win against resolute Slavia Prague. dark

This team is disjointed and is stuck in a weird mix of veterans and young players. Valverde seems to have no cure for what ails them and if they don’t shape up and fast, it’s going to result in another disappointing exit from the Champions League.