Barcelona will predictably look to blame their loss to Real Madrid on the referee. Another penalty they will shout.
There is no doubt that the call that put them behind 2-1 in the 63rd minute was controversial. Sergio Ramos did what he is trained to do when there is contact inside the box. Clement Lenglet should have been smarter.
But there was still time to make an adjustment.
After a high paced first half that favored Barcelona, they should have had the confidence to continue the direct play. The way the second period started, however, it looked like they were content to settle for a tie.
When you go behind a goal with that much time remaining, the next decision is obvious. Put on Dembele and start applying pressure to the Madrid back line.
Time went on and on, and manager Ronald Koeman waited without making any tactical changes. This is alarmingly similar to the way that Ernesto Valverde and Quique Setien manged games.
Why are Barcelona managers so afraid of taking chances? In these situations, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
Earlier in the week Shakhtar Donetsk broke down the Real Madrid defense with ease using speedy wingers who were able to run behind.
The answer was right in front of Koeman’s eyes. Dembele may not have been the silver bullet, but he could have changed the dynamic of the game, giving Barcelona their best chance to pull one back.
Finally, in the 81st minute the Dutchman made his substitutions. They were the right players, but at the wrong time. About 20 minutes too late.
In addition to the lack of management late in the game, the controversial decision to play Pedri from the start over Dembele and Antoine Griezmann also needs to be addressed.
Pedri looks cool and confident. He has earned playing time, but Koeman is making the wrong call by selecting him over his more experienced and dynamic attacking options. Giving Pedri confidence is commendable, but not when it means destroying Griezmann’s confidence at the same time.
In the end, the decision didn’t pay off. Pedri did well, but he didn’t make much of an impact. Koeman needs to own that decision. If Pedri excelled he could have called himself a genius, but instead we’re left wondering whether the other options could have made a difference in the outcome of the game. I’d argue that Dembele from the start was the right tactical choice given his form in mid week during the Champions League.
One last criticism Koeman must take is his preference for Sergio Busquets over Miralem Pjanic. Busquets made costly turnovers, and was unable to create any meaningful opportunities. It’s time to give other players a chance in that role to see what they can provide.
Koeman does, however, deserve credit for playing Sergiño Dest over Sergi Roberto. Dest was exceptional, especially on the defensive end. With Dest, Barcelona has a fast and physical player who is difficult to beat. This is an upgrade to the defense that the club has needed for years. The question will be whether he gains confidence going forward, and is able to create goal scoring opportunities the way Jordi Alba does on the left side.
Bottom line, you can’t blame the referee for a controversial call unless you know your team was giving it everything they had. In the second half much was left to be desired. Koeman is responsible for not making the needed adjustment at the right time.
Barcelona has plenty of time to learn from their mistakes, but every game counts so they’ll need to learn quickly.