Barcelona pays the price for their underperforming new signing.

(Baonghean.vn) - In the 12th round of matches, Barcelona had to settle for a disappointing draw against Malaga. Many reasons have been given to explain this poor result, but above all, the poor performance of the new signings under coach Luis Enrique remains a major factor. Could Barcelona be paying the price for their lack of foresight during the 2016 summer transfer window?

Witnessing the disappointing run of results for Luis Enrique's team in April 2016, when Barcelona were eliminated from the Champions League in the quarter-finals by Atletico Madrid, and furthermore, in La Liga, Messi and his teammates nearly handed the trophy to Real Madrid despite still being 10 points ahead of Los Blancos at the end of March. This decline stemmed from Barcelona's squad depth, as key players like Messi, Suarez, Neymar, Iniesta... were overworked, causing them to lose their sharpness during certain periods.

If Luis Enrique had more quality backup options at his disposal, Barcelona wouldn't be in such a dire situation.

These are Barcelona's new signings this season.

Therefore, as soon as the 2015-2016 season ended, the Barcelona management began strengthening the team. After shaking up the transfer market during the summer, six players – Samuel Umtiti, Lucas Digne, Paco Alcacer, Andre Gomes, Denis Suarez, and Jasper Cillessen – arrived at Camp Nou. With approximately £104 million, Barcelona acquired a number of highly promising players across all positions. However, all of this is just theory; reality doesn't always go as planned.

Recently, with key players like Iniesta, Messi, Pique, and Suarez facing injuries or suspensions, the results for the Camp Nou team have been extremely disappointing. The players entrusted by coach Enrique with the responsibility left by their predecessors have failed to perform. While it's understandable that these players can't shine overnight, they should at least have played their roles adequately against less formidable opponents.

As evidence, in the third round when Barcelona hosted newly promoted Alaves at Camp Nou, coach Enrique benched Messi, Suarez, and Iniesta, replacing them with new signings like Denis Suarez and Paco Alcacer. In the mind of the former AS Roma and Centa Vigo coach, Alaves was not strong enough to spring a surprise against Barcelona, ​​even with just a few reserve players.

Objectively speaking, the calculations of the strategist born in 1970 were completely reasonable considering the relative strengths of the two teams. Before the match, few dared to believe Barcelona would drop points. Yet, that's exactly what happened, with the visiting Alaves leaving Camp Nou with a full three points. And the "substitutes" like Denis Suarez and Paco Alcacer were among the culprits for Barcelona's defeat that day.

Barcelona still has to rely on the same old faces.

Most recently, Luis Enrique's team drew against Malaga at Camp Nou. Despite not being able to field their strongest lineup due to Messi (illness), Iniesta (injury), Suarez (suspension), etc., few dared to believe Malaga could even get a point. Similar to the match against Alaves, Coach Luis Enrique continued to place his trust in Paco Alcacer, Denis Suarez, Andre Gomes, etc., by including them in the starting lineup.

However, after 90 minutes at Camp Nou, these players achieved absolutely nothing. Despite dominating the game with a numerical advantage (Malaga had two players sent off), Barcelona couldn't find the net against goalkeeper Kameni even once. Throughout their time on the pitch, Denis Suarez, Paco Alcacer, and Gomes all played like amateurs. Their mentality, technique, and tactics were all poor. They were isolated from their teammates, lost in the opponent's defense.

If a name is needed to illustrate the poor form and lack of integration among the new signings currently at Camp Nou, it's none other than striker Paco Alcacer.

To acquire the player born in 1993, Barcelona had to spend 30 million euros and include Munir on loan to persuade Valencia to release him. Coach Enrique saw Alcacer as a quality backup option for the "MNS trio". However, after 12 rounds in La Liga, the Spanish striker has yet to score a single goal for the Catalan giants, despite being regularly given opportunities to play and scoring chances after favorable assists from his teammates.

Alcacer is the most disappointing new signing.

What is happening to Enrique and his team is the consequence of a rather disastrous transfer window for the Barcelona management. If they don't promptly address the shortcomings that have been exposed recently, the price the Camp Nou team will pay will be significant.

Le Thanh Hung