There is no denying that Barca's previous 15-round unbeaten run of leagues has given red and blue fans too much confidence. "Harvey's revival is in sight", "The next Guardiola", "The Dream 4 Dynasty is about to begin"... These words appear frequently in the comments section. But Rome was not built in a day, and how can Barcelona, which has been sunk for many years, get back on track in a short time. Sure enough, after the latest wave of two consecutive defeats and the Europa League exit, doubts began to emerge.
Losing 3-2 at home to Eintracht Frankfurt, Barca lost their last chance to compete for the title of the season. With a 1-0 home defeat to relegation team Cádiz, Barca's last hope of winning the title has been basically dashed, and all that needs to be done now is to consider next season's problems. The dream is shattered and the return to reality is actually a good thing, after all, Barca's biggest current season is actually the Champions League qualification.
So from 15 unbeaten games to the recent two-game losing streak at home, what exactly is the problem with Barca? How can we improve after the end of the season to better envision the new season?
The first is the depth of the bench, which is also Barca's biggest shortcoming at present. And not one position, but multiple, from the backcourt to the frontcourt. The first is the two full-backs, and the problem of Alba not having a substitute has existed for many years, but Barca has not been solved. The direct manifestation of this problem is that Barca are prone to collapse at the end of the season.
Alba's ability is beyond doubt, and although he is no longer young, his role is indispensable when he is physically energetic. But as the season progresses, the number of games increases, and his fitness tends to be exposed after April, and he is too tired. The same is true of right-backs, and it is unrealistic to expect veteran Alves, who is older than Alba. Once Destin is injured, the strength of the entire defense line is affected.
Busquets, the midfield core of the "Dream Three" period, is still indispensable, and so far, he has made 45 appearances and 43 starts, and the lack of rest brings problems similar to Alba. In addition, after Pedri was injured, Harvey chose to put Garvey on top. But the 17-year-old is still too young, and in addition to the momentum of a newborn calf who is not afraid of tigers, there is still a clear gap between him and Pedri in the handling of the ball. But when we look at Barca's bench, who else can Xavi use? Phuket?
It is clear that Barca's attack can only be matched with reasonableness and threats when Busquets and Pedri are on the floor at the same time, as their ability to shoot and control is second to none in the team.
Secondly, Barca are still missing a top centre-forward. When the position battle cannot be opened, Barca's main means of relying on crosses is cross-cutting. Dembele has been in good shape lately, and even if he is not online, he can still create cross opportunities through his personal ability. But what about the effect? Very general, because Barca do not have a center with the top ability.
Back against Cadiz, Barca created a staggering 36 crosses, but only 3 pins were able to pinpoint their teammates, with a measly poor 8 percent success rate. Harvey was obsessed with breaking the cross, but he had no quantity to improve the quality, and was eventually taken away by a counterattack by Cadiz for 3 points.
In addition, the excessive number of crosses also highlights barca's current problem of a single offensive method. Without Pedri, Busquets was highly targeted and the midfielder was unable to deliver penetrating balls, and at this time, if Barca could increase their long-range shots, it would be a good way to break the game. But we see that it is Pedri who has the strongest long-range shooting ability in Barca's midfield, who has scored 2 long-range shots this season. Busquets and De Jong rarely shoot from distance, and Barca's skill slot is basically empty.
There are few long-range shots, and another scoring weapon, the free kick, is basically uncanny. After Messi left, Barca did not have a set-piece player with a steady output. Logically, Barca have no shortage of players with strong breakthrough ability, and there are many opportunities to make set pieces. In the past, Barca could rely on Messi's free kicks to break the game, and now this skill slot is empty.
In short, Xavi has made progress and seen hope for Barca, but there is still a long way to go before a real renaissance. In the summer window this year, Barca will not have much budget, which will test the operational ability of club executives such as Alemani. Spending limited funds on the blade, comprehensively improving the depth of the bench, focusing on strengthening weak positions, Barca can still look forward to the future.