Deflated, disjointed and utterly disinterested: Will the real Barça please stand up

Barcelona needed a statement win. Xavi needed a statement win. And we needed a statement win. But what we got instead was a team that looked like a shadow of their true self. Of course, being Europe-hungover is a real thing. Following their defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt, for example, Barcelona were beaten 1-0 by Cadiz to really nail home the disappointment. And following up on European victories is also a tough task. In fact, even after the legendary remontada against Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona were too groggy to stand up to Deportivo in the very next fixture, losing 2:1. But how much of an excuse can that really be for a team desperate to win something this season? A team trying to prove a point? A team wanting to be a football force once more?

Fortunately, Xavi’s men still have a decent lead at the top of the table but Real Madrid can never be written off. Even in their darkest hour, they will keep biting and clinging onto that trophy until their last breath. We can be sure of that. But can we back Barcelona up to put up a similar fight in the face of adversity? For all intents and purposes, tonight was supposed to be the night that breaks the title race. And indeed it did, only it has done so in a way opposite to what we were craving.

But, perhaps, as ever, context is important. This was one of Barcelona’s worst games of the season. Maybe not the very worst but surely at least near the top of the list. Individually, the players were disinterested, deflated and acted as if they were playing in second gear. Collectively, the play was disjointed, actions idealess and intensity with which they steamrolled Manchester United in the opening 45 minutes at Old Trafford nonexistent.

Alas, has Xavi returned back to Spain from England with the wrong team in that bus? It may very well be because that couldn’t have been his team playing tonight. And it certainly wasn’t Barcelona.

Either way, iit was coming. Being undefeated since October and boasting Europe’s best defensive record was bound to have some sort of an effect on the team. Injuries start piling up, suspensions come about and even comfort sets in if you’re not vigilant. Tonight, Barcelona suffered from all of it at once. They survived Robert Lewandowski’s suspension and were scraping by through Ousmane Dembele’s injury. But losing Pedri and then losing a chance to win a European trophy seemed to have been too much.

If we’re talking about season-defining games, you’re looking at one right here. This is the type of banana skin that breeds doubt and starts a spiral; it’s a slippery slope that will bring you down and keep you there unless you immediately get back on your feet. Xavi, once more, had to do more. He may be Barcelona’s coach but right now, with heads in the clouds and feet anywhere but firmly on the ground, they need him to be a (man) manager too.

Good performances need to be rewarded, bad performances need to have consequences. Plan A is good 80% of the time but plan B or A.2 is nonexistent. That, of course, has to do with the sheer quality of players as well.

Barcelona are full of great players but tonight, you could count great performers on the fingers of only one of your hands. And that’d be too much too. The big question then is, how much of that is on Xavi? He is partly to blame, for sure. After all, turning the games around with substitutions and tactical tweaks has been a particular weakness of his. The fact the bench players are also often sub-par could be attributed to him, albeit, again, not to the full extent. Many of those players are there because of Xavi in the first place. And maybe it’s time to accept they shouldn’t be.

On the other hand, tactically speaking and analysing Barcelona’s structure, the first two phases in possession were once again solid. The Catalans found their progression channels well after the initial surge from Almeria and the build-up translated well into the final third. But it is that last stretch of the pitch that remains an enigma for the Blaugrana.

This team is missing a spark to get them over the final third hurdle and then a venomous bite to put the chances away. At the moment, with players like Dembele and Pedri being unavailable and Lewandowski a shadow of his former self, they are starving for game-changers.

There’s a lot of LaLiga to be played and the season is still long. Real Madrid also await in the Copa del Rey and rotating is understandable, if not even desirable, but if Los Blancos meet this team on Thursday, whoever they might be, there’ll be only one team in contention to advance further in the competition.

And it won’t be us. So will the real Barça please stand up?

Over to you, Señor Xavier.