Barcelona - 'Don't think red is ripe'!

(Baonghean.vn) - Barcelona's 3-0 victory over rival Juventus in the first match of the 2017/2018 Champions League group stage helped the Cules escape doubts about their team's strength.

An impressive start

Leaving behind the disappointment in the transfer market and the bitterness of the two El Clasico matches against rival Real Madrid, the Camp Nou team is making even the most demanding Cules feel extremely satisfied with the performance of Messi and his teammates in recent matches.

4 consecutive wins (3 matches in La Liga), coach Valverde's students have scored a total of 12 goals (average 3 goals/match) and goalkeeper Stegen has not had to pick the ball out of the net even once.

Although the MNS trio is no longer there (Neymar moved to PSG), new recruits like Deulofeu and Dembele have not proven much, but Barcelona's attack, led by the duo Messi - Suarez, still continuously spread terror to opponents.

Even if luck had not turned its face, the number of goals of the Camp Nou home team would have exceeded 12. And the unluckiest person is none other than Messi. Up to this point, El Pulga has been denied by the post and crossbar 5 times.

Star Messi is in extremely good form with the new but old role of 'false number 9'. Photo: Internet

In midfield, the trio Iniesta - Busquets - Rakitic are finding themselves again after a period of decline. The close connection of the 3 triangle peaks in the midfield area helps Barcelona control the game quite well.

The transitions from defense to counter-attack, from attack to counter-attack were made faster and more proactively than before. All thanks to the excellence of Busquets - Iniesta - Rakitic, under the direction of coach Valverde.

In addition, the defense under the command of center-back Pique also did something that few people dared to think of. After more than 360 minutes of play (4 matches), Barcelona still kept their net intact.

Perhaps, against the strikers of Betis, Alaves, Espanyol, it is not enough to praise the solidity of Stegen and his teammates. However, successfully neutralizing killers like Higuain, Dybala on Juventus' side, Barcelona's defense truly deserves praise.

Concerns about the quality and integration of the new recruits are somewhat relieved, as right-back Semedo continues to show brilliant performances. The price of 40 million euros that Barcelona paid for Benfica, now seems too cheap.

Finally, the void left by Alves at Camp Nou has found the perfect person to fill. And equally importantly, thanks to Barcelona's form, the excellence of Messi, Semedo... the pressure on president Bartomeu has decreased a bit.

There are still many concerns.

However, based on the positive highlights in the last 4 matches, we cannot hastily affirm that the Barcelona machine has become perfect. There are still many shortcomings in the army led by coach Valverde.

First of all, in terms of playing style, the Camp Nou team not only depends less on star Messi, but also shows that the “Messidepencia” syndrome is getting worse. In Barcelona’s 10 goals in the last 3 matches, Messi contributed to 7.

The Argentine striker is shouldering all the tasks in the attack, from dropping back to receive the ball - dribbling - creating and scoring. The satellites playing around him do not provide much support. Deulofeu is still showing his immaturity, Dembele is a new arrival, and Suarez has suffered a terrible decline in form.

As long as Messi is tightly blocked by the opponent, Barcelona will be in immediate danger when the remaining players continue to show their inability to take advantage of opportunities.

Young striker Dembele (right) still needs more time to prove his talent. Photo: Internet

Another big concern is the gap between the starting lineup and the reserve lineup. It is easy to see that coach Valverde has a strong force, but in terms of quantity, the quality is limited.

Mascherano, Vermalen, Turan are on the other side of their careers or have spent more time on the field after injury than on the field. Last season's new recruits Gomes, Alcacer, Digne often make the Cules sigh. As for the newly arrived faces like Dembele, Paulinho, Deulofeu, they need to wait a little longer.

Furthermore, the defense, despite not conceding a goal in 4 consecutive matches, still occasionally falls into a state of disorder and loss of concentration. The reason why goalkeeper Stegen has not been defeated is because the opposing strikers are not sharp enough to face the delicious opportunities created.

Just look back at the match between Barcelona and Juventus that just ended and you will see clearly. If Dybala, Bentancur, Higuain... on the away team had finished more accurately, Barcelona's net would have shaken at least once.

Through the above evidence, Coach Valverde still has a lot of work to do to help Barcelona win the La Liga and Champions League in the 2017/2018 season. Therefore, "Don't see red and think it's ripe"./.

Thanh Hung