Barcelona: Storm ahead!

(Baonghean.vn) - Unable to defeat Celta Vigo right at Camp Nou, Barcelona had their points gap narrowed by the teams behind them. The risk of losing the leading position of coach Valverde and his team is very clear, because they have a series of difficult matches ahead.

Holding Celta Vigo to a 2-2 draw, the Catalan giants have failed to take all three points in La Liga for the second consecutive match. In the previous round (round 13), Barcelona had to rely on a late goal from left-back Alba to earn a draw against Valencia.

Getting 1 point away from Mestalla is an acceptable result for Messi and his teammates. After all, the home team Valencia is currently in 2nd place on the rankings and has a fairly strong squad.

However, the draw with Celta Vigo in the last round was extremely regrettable for Barcelona. Playing at Camp Nou against an opponent who is struggling in the middle of the rankings like Celta Vigo, coach Valverde and his team should blame themselves for not winning. Remember, last season, Barcelona easily defeated Celta Vigo 5-0 without spending too much effort. However, in this meeting, all Messi and his teammates could do was a hard-fought draw.

The excellence of Messi - Suarez - Alba still could not help Barcelona overcome Celta Vigo. Photo: Internet

The draw against Celta Vigo was nothing more than a “self-inflicted” action by coach Valverde and his team. The gap between them and the second-placed team, Valencia, is now only 5 points (Valencia has played 1 less match). With 23 more rounds left in La Liga, such a gap is extremely fragile. If they keep dropping points like in the last 2 matches, the prospect of the Camp Nou team being caught up and surpassed by their opponents is very likely to happen. It seems that after a period of sublime performance, the form of the “Catalan giant” is slowing down.

Many shortcomings in Barcelona's playing style are gradually being exposed and thoroughly exploited by opponents. The attack line cannot maintain the necessary sharpness to tear the opponent's net apart. Suarez, Messi... often miss delicious opportunities from match to match. As a rule, attacking a lot but not finishing off the opponent will inevitably receive "counterattacks". The draw against Celta Vigo clearly reflected that. Throughout the 90 minutes at Camp Nou, Barcelona was the dominant team with a series of opportunities created.

According to statistics, the home team fired a total of 21 shots, more than double the number of shots of Celta Vigo (10). However, the most important number is the goals, coach Valverde's team is only equal to the away team (2). If Messi and Pique did not hit the post, Paulinho was more accurate in his favorable shots... Barcelona would have won all 3 points. Obviously, a weak attack is one of the reasons why the home team at Camp Nou lost points. This is not an easy problem for coach Valverde to solve.

Center-back Umtiti will have to rest for about 2 months. Photo: Internet

Along with the decline of the attack, there are terrible mistakes of the defense. After Pique made mistakes, then Semedo and now Umtiti gave away goals to the opponent. Only the excellent goalkeeper Stegen and left-back Alba are not enough to keep Barcelona's goal safe. After 15 rounds, the home team Camp Nou has only conceded 7 goals, but in the last 2 matches, goalkeeper Stegen had to pick the ball out of the net 3 times (accounting for nearly half of the goals conceded up to now). It is very likely that Barcelona will have to concede more goals due to personal errors like in the 2 draws with Valencia (1-1) and Celta Vigo (2-2).

The upcoming journey of coach Valverde and his team is extremely difficult. In the situation that Umtiti has to rest for about 2 months to recover from injury, Barcelona will face many challenges in the away matches at Villarreal (December 11) and Real Madrid (December 23). The risk of continuing to lose points and being caught up and surpassed by opponents in the rankings is clear as day. The journey ahead of Messi and his teammates is full of storms./.

Thanh Hung