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Barcelona’s defense will be its downfall in La Liga and Champions League

By Ernesto Hernandez

Barcelona's French defender Clement Lenglet (C) leaves the pitch after receiving a red card during the Spanish league football match between Real Betis and FC Barcelona at the Benito Villamarin stadium in Seville on February 9, 2020. (Photo by CRISTINA QUICLER / AFP) (Photo by CRISTINA QUICLER/AFP via Getty Images)
Barcelona's French defender Clement Lenglet (C) leaves the pitch after receiving a red card during the Spanish league football match between Real Betis and FC Barcelona at the Benito Villamarin stadium in Seville on February 9, 2020. (Photo by CRISTINA QUICLER / AFP) (Photo by CRISTINA QUICLER/AFP via Getty Images) /
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The arrival of Quique Sétien has done little to improve Barcelona’s struggles on defense.

When Ernesto Valverde was fired as Barcelona manager, one of the areas his detractors pointed the finger at was his team’s struggles defensively. It seemed that any half-decent team could easily slice Barcelona on a counterattack.

The hope with Sétien was that things would change by going back to their style of play. That they would defend by having possession of the ball. While the Catalans have had more possession in every game since he took over, the issues remain.

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Once Barcelona lose the ball, all bets are off. Real Betis’ second goal provided a perfect example when it comes to defending.

Arturo Vidal lost the ball in midfield and Nabil Fekir was allowed to not only run the ball but to get a shot off without much interference. Samuel Umtiti failed to close him down and gave him way too much space to slot his shot past Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

Failing to close down a player has been a consistent problem for this team. The lack of pace from the centre-backs may contribute to their hesitance.

If they try to close down all it would take is a step over or a change of direction for the defender to be left in the dust. Just take a look at what Iñaki Williams did to Gerard Pique.

The injury to Umtiti a couple of seasons back and his inability to regain his form has also contributed to their struggles. He has not looked anywhere near the defender he used to be and there’s always a worry he’s going to get injured again.

Gerard Pique remains arguably Barcelona’s best defender and that is a problem. He’s up there in age and, similar to when Sergio Busquets is out, they have a poor record when he doesn’t feature. But even Pique is feeling the effects of a poor defensive side. He missed the Betis game because he accumulated his tenth yellow card of the season which is four more than he saw all of last season.

The concern is if things don’t improve, then they do not have a realistic shot of winning La Liga much less the Champions League. In the Champions League knockout stages, those teams rarely let you off the hook. Barcelona know this first-hand. With how well Real Madrid is playing, they’re looking at the Barça defense knowing they can take advantage.

Developing and buying central defenders has not been the club’s strong suit. They sold Jean-Clair Todibo, Marlon Santos and Yerry Mina. All who were talented prospects and were not given much of a chance. Clement Lenglet has been serviceable but is not without his flaws. As it stand, the back-up to the three defenders on the roster is Ronald Araujo from Barça B.

It would be unfair to pin the blame on just the backline. The midfield is supposed to do their fair share of the work. This is where Busquets come in. It is no secret that he’s lost a step or two and is also not the player he used to be. Along with Messi, he’s supposed to lead the team from the back. But he’s lost more balls than he used to and doesn’t have the pace anymore to make up for some of those mistakes.

Frenkie de Jong was brought in to tighten up and recuperate lost balls but he’s had an up-and-down season from his own admission.

The task of improving the defense not only falls on the manager but the team as a whole. They need to do a better job of pressuring the opponent when they lose the ball which they were doing once the new manager was brought in. Perhaps fatigue is setting in because they’re not doing that as well anymore.

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Barcelona have conceded 28 goals this season which is twice as much as Real Madrid. If they want to win any silverware this season, Sétien has to find a solution on defense. It’s been their downfall in the Champions League and now it very well could be their downfall in La Liga.