Barcelona’s poor start to the season continues
Barcelona started off the season well with Ronald Koeman as their new manager but things seem to have gone topsy turvy within a span of a month. The Catalan giants are languishing in the La Liga table at 12th position with 8 points from their last 6 league games. Barca has earned just 5 points from their last five matches which is clearly disappointing for the gaffer who thinks the team is lacking quality finishing in front of the goal.
However, former manager Quique Setien had his say over the current condition of the Blaugrana. He made a specific point about Barcelona captain and talisman Lionel Messi who is yet to score a goal from open play in the current season.
The 6-time-Balon D’or has netted 4 goals, all from the penalty spot. As per Marca, Setien is critical of Messi and remarked the player is ‘difficult to manage’. The ex-Betis manager had a lacklustre 6 months tenure at Camp Nou which did not lead Barcelona to any silverware last season. Instead, the club recorded one of their heaviest defeats in recent times with a scoreline of 2-8 against German champions Bayern Munich.
Koeman finding it hard to snap up easy wins without a striker
Setien admitted that Leo is the best player of all time but he also was skeptical about Barcelona’s problems away from the pitch. The board resigned recently with President Josep Maria Bartomeu stepping down from his role. This was a long time coming but fresh elections are yet to take place and so Barcelona lacks management in order to perform well. Koeman’s squad was held in a 1-1 draw against Alaves away from home. Even though Alaves had their player sent off in the 62nd minute, Barcelona failed to score the winning goal.
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The Catalunya outfit is currently 9 points behind league leader Real Sociedad. Bitter rivals Real Madrid are also ahead of Barcelona with 8 points which makes the situation of high concern. Barca went trophyless the last season but looked to shine with Ansu Fati and Sergino Dest performing regularly.
French striker Antoinne Griezmann could not make most of the opportunity to shine again as he claimed Ronald Koeman did not play him in his best position in the team. Unfortunately, they have only two wins in La Liga and the loss in El Clasico at home showed the flaws which remained in the team. Koeman still entrusts his players to salvage the rest of the games in his hand but it will be a tough act to commit.
