Barcelona’s attacking dilemma and how to resolve it
Analyzing the attacking dilemma at Barcelona with possible solutions.
The attacking trio of Barcelona is facing a massive issue with underperforming players that need to be replaced with available alternatives.
More from Everything Barca
- FC Barcelona tracking Belgian Wonderkid
- FC Barcelona vs Betis Player Ratings
- Barça boss Xavi to get contract extension
- FC Barcelona planning swoop for Arsenal midfielder
- Barcelona interested in €30 million wonderkid
Despite dominating and positive performances against both Mallorca and Leganes, Quique Setien‘s men found it difficult to penetrate the defensive structure at Sevilla and Athletic Bilbao.
The match against Sevilla ended up in a draw that saw arch-rivals, Real Madrid, take the lead because of head-to-head advantage. It was the ninth match of this season which went without seeing a single goal from the Catalans, and fourth since Quique Setien took over former coach, Ernesto Valverde.
While the majority of the matches that went goalless were before Setien’s arrival, the attacking trio at Barca showed worrisome signs in the past two matches which can truly be a massive issue for the Catalans as they have only 7 matches remaining to the current campaign.
Real Madrid have already taken the lead and while culés were confident about Barca’s ability to go without a single defeat in the remaining of the matches thanks to Ter Stegen, Gerard Pique, and co., it is the lack of motivated attackers that is a call for concern.
Quique Setien, in his last four matches, has opted for four different attacking trios. While Martin Braithwaite, Ansu Fati, and Lionel Messi found immense success, for the most part, the inconsistency seen in games against Sevilla and Athletic club screams for some restructuring.
The players are not the only ones to be blamed as Quique Setien’s lack of confidence in his players can be blamed for the mismanagement in substitutions against Sevilla that many believe cost Barca the game.
His failure to bring on the promising youngster, Ansu Fati, against Sevilla due to the fear of losing defensive capabilities is truly the exact reason why Culés disliked Ernesto Valverde. They wanted a coach who was not afraid to take risks as the players despite being of great caliber, lacked the motivation and inspiration to perform, which translated into their games.
With 7 matches remaining in La Liga and Real Madrid leading, Barca cannot afford to make any more mistakes that may result in them dropping more points. Quique Setien has to decide which attacking trio is capable of breaking the opponent’s defense to avoid what happened against Sevilla and Bilbao.