3 Reasons why FC Barcelona lost the Preseason friendly against AC Milan

FC Barcelona lost their Preseason friendly against AC Milan 4-3 on penalties. Despite delivering a significant show in the regular minutes of play, the Blaugrana players couldn't hold their nerves, costing them the fixture. Though some brilliant positives emerged from the fixture, including Lewandowski's resurgence, a brilliant effort from Pau Victor, and the duo of Marc Bernal and Marc Casado, this loss would certainly take some toll on the Catalan club's morale.

On that note, here are three major reasons that influenced the fixture's result in favor of FC Barcelona:

Fragile backline

One of the biggest reasons that saw Barca finish on the other side of victory was their not up to mark defending. Even though Alex Valle and Gerard Martin had been impressive in the Preseason so far, their recent performance against AC Milan hints that the youngsters aren't ready for the big stage.

While Rafael Leao traumatized Alex Valle on the right wing, Gerard Martin's mixed outing couldn't help Barcelona either. Though the two fullbacks looked good in ball deliveries, the Blaugrana club certainly needs to work on the two to make them ready for the European Challenge. Moreover, a poor show from Lenglet, who was supposed to be the leader of the backline, cemented Milan's chances in the fixture.

On top of that, attention needs to be showered on an unconvincing performance from Ter Stegen, who is supposed to be the new Blaugrana Captain. In such a scenario, the German goalkeeper must enhance his performance in crunch situations, considering Milan's 50% goal conversion given their number of attempts. Overall, Flick needs to improvise and maybe build a new backline to start the hunt for European glory.

Mediocre finishing

Though Barcelona's comeback from the situation where Milan had taken an important 2-0 lead was incredible, the Blaugrana club needs to work significantly on their finishing skills. Apart from Robert Lewandowski and Pau Victor, no one looked satisfactory in front of the goal, as the Blaugrana club managed to convert only two occasions out of the 17 chances they created.

Clearly, Pau Victor has been the find of the US preseason campaign for FC Barcelona, and he would be seen more frequently in the Barca XI; most of the other prospects haven't stood out in the attacking role. Moreover, even though Raphinha looked good in the left-wing role, he needs to improvise upon finishing skills.

Overall, it seems as if Barcelona's new setup wants Olmo to be available as soon as possible, considering Vitor Roque and Raphinha haven't materialized on the left wing yet.

Pressure handling

Though this factor might not sound significant as compared to the previous factors, this is what differentiates European Giants from mid-table teams. Because Barcelona looked dominating against AC Milan in regular minutes, Barca bottling it in the end moments would certainly take a toll on the team's morale.

Even though Pena had saved Bennacer's opening penalty, Jules Kounde couldn't capitalize on the brilliant opportunity as he pushed it wide against Torriani. On top of that, Quim's penalty miss accumulated the already high pressure and saw Barca behind the Milan club in the penalties.

Moreover, when Pena had brought Barca back into serious contention, Faye's penalty miss ruined the chances of Barca completing their hat-trick of preseason wins. Thus, overall, this young Barcelona squad needs to manage these situations more calmly to reach an invincible level in European football.