Barcelona are suffering from their worst time this year. The team are not playing at the level everyone expects them to and this has troubled the fans. The team played Celta Vigo last Sunday night at Camp Nou. The game was a tough one for the Blaugranas with Celta being such a bogey side. The first half and the second one were 2 different stories. Things looked far from comfortable in the second half for Barcelona. Had it not been for Marc Andre Ter Stegen’s heroic performance yet again, Barcelona would have surely have dropped points.
This performance was followed up by a 3-3 draw against Inter Milan which has made life difficult for them. They are on the verge of playing Europa League football once again this season. It feels so harsh given the squad they have got this season. Lewandowski has been nothing but sensational for them. But the Polish have not had much support which has made the team over-dependent on him. He has fired in 14 goals already this season. But Xavi is frustrated with the results and the performances the team is putting in despite being second in La Liga.
This draw was followed up by a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Real Madrid in the Clasico. The performance drew criticism as the team did not know what to do. Real Madrid were simply much better and much more clinical than them. The month of October has been really poor for Barcelona as they have lost out on all the big games. When it mattered, the team failed to step up and thus the consequences are there. Sergio Busquets and Gerard Pique are not having the best of times and this indicates their time in Barcelona is very well over.
Xavi and Barcelona have pressure to deliver
Despite the disappointing results the team has had, Xavi is still optimistic that it is just a rough patch that they have hit. Several teams go through bad times in their rebuild phase and it is no different for Barcelona. The club has lost out to the likes of Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, and Real Madrid this season. It is a real possibility that they will play UEL football this season. This will be the 2nd consecutive season that Barcelona will play in the Europa League.
But it can be easily said that injuries have taken a toll on the team. Jules Kounde and Ronald Araujo have been desperately missed in this time period. The defense has really suffered in the big games which have resulted in poor defeats. It is quite easy to see that Kounde and Araujo would have made a huge difference in these games. It is still a transition phase for the team and it won’t be long until they go on and beat the other big guns.
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