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The nightmare that Barcelona witnessed at Anfield on the 5th of May still makes their fans cover their eyes in horror. What would have been one of the most successful seasons in Barcelona's history ended on such an embarrassing note as Liverpool utterly dismantled them and their dream of getting crowned European champions again.
However, despite suffering setbacks season after season, Barcelona always try to bounce back and fight again, with Lionel Messi leading the charge. So what do they have to do this time to end this miserable cycle of European disappointment?
The Catalan giants certainly went into the transfer window with the goal to assemble the best team in the world, if they didn't already have an unbelievable squad. The signings of young midfield phenomenon Frenkie de Jong and Atletico Madrid star Antoine Griezmann certainly sent a message of intent to all their European rivals.
Here, we analyze three factors that could finally see them regain their European glory.
#3 Reinforced Attack
While scoring goals in the domestic league has never been a problem for the Blaugrana, their Champions League campaigns tell a very different story. Barca's main source of goals in Europe has been Lionel Messi, and that, on most nights proves to be enough for Barcelona to get over the line.
But whenever Lionel Messi fails to find the back of the net, the Catalan team is unable to find any other source to get goals from - such is their over-reliance on their diminutive number 10. Their main striker Luis Suarez has been showing signs of decline since 2017 when the feared trio of Messi-Suarez-Neymar was still in its pomp. With Neymar gone, Suarez has struggled desperately for goals in Europe, and the fact that he netted his last away goal in Europe in September 2015, only goes on to reiterate that.
However, the signing of Griezmann could change that. In the past seasons, it wasn't uncommon to see Suarez getting isolated upfront when Messi had to drop deep into midfield to dictate the play. Dembele never got a consistent run of games and Coutinho failed to shine too. So, with Griezmann on the team, the creative output of the front three would increase substantially, and they wouldn't always have to depend on fullbacks for attacking support. The signing of de Jong also ensures that Messi wouldn't have to drop deep into the midfield so often, and the full force of Messi-Suarez-Griezmann could be unleashed.
Their pre-season for Barcelona saw de Jong and Griezmann star for them. The victories against Napoli and Arsenal demonstrated the attacking prowess and control that these two can bring to the team, even in the absence of Lionel Messi.
#2 Upgrades in midfield
One of the biggest reasons for Barcelona's lack of goals in Europe has been their ageing midfield, with Sergio Busquets and Ivan Rakitic being shadows of the players they once used to be. With Iniesta gone too, a creative playmaker was something Barcelona had been craving for, and that's exactly the void Frenkie de Jong has been brought in to fill.
Last year's signing Arthur Melo was quick to endear himself to the fans, but he only could shine in patches because of injuries and a lack of consistent game time. Arthur and de Jong are both technically gifted, have great ball control, and can pick out passes from midfield, something that both Busquets and Rakitic were known for. But, complacency and below-par performances from both of them cost Barca in many games last season.
With their decline, the new creative spark offered by de Jong and Arthur is exactly what's needed to stir up the midfield. Besides these two, young La Masia products Carles Alena and Riqui Puig, who featured heavily in pre-season this time, are also expected to offer Busquets and Rakitic competition for the starting places in the team.
One important factor to note would be that Barca was defensively caught out many times last season, for instance, in the games against Liverpool and Manchester United due to Busquet's declining ability to hold the ball and quickly release passes during transitions from defence to attack. To gain midfield control, Messi often had to drop deep to help out, and that made him less effective and isolated Suarez upfront. With the addition of de Jong, that is less likely to happen, thus making Messi much more dangerous in areas around the box.
The stability of midfield brought by these new, young talents, along with the experienced Rakitic and Busquets, could make the frontline much more threatening and unleash the full force of Messi-Suarez-Griezmann.
#1 Ernesto Valverde
If there's one person at Barcelona who would be desperate to redeem himself, it's Ernesto Valverde. The Barcelona manager since joining in 2017 has seen his team crash out of the Champions League knockouts in utterly disgraceful fashion, for which a majority of the blame has been put on him by fans and pundits.
His lack of tactical awareness to change the game when his team is suffering and to utilize his squad in the best way possible to decrease the dependence on Messi has been his greatest weaknesses. But, with repeated failures at the European stage in consecutive years, Valverde surely has had the chance to learn from his mistakes and finally answer all his critics.
This year, his team is better than what he's had in previous years in terms of attacking prowess and it's all on him to get the very best out of it. Last time, he never managed to get a consistent level of performance from Ousmane Dembele, due to his season being ravaged by injuries. He also didn't have a genuine backup for Luis Suarez, who was having a poor season by his standards as well.
Busquets, Rakitic, Jordi Alba, Suarez, and Gerard Pique were some of the players who started almost every game last season, despite having dreadful performances in many games. This time, Valverde has the chance to stir up the midfield with de Jong, Alena, and Arthur, who have now well settled in the team. The attacking woes can also be addressed if Valverde could manage to give all of his attackers in Messi, Dembele, Griezmann and Suarez proper game time and rest, to keep them firing on all cylinders at the business end of the season.
To regain the crown of European Champions, the most important role to be played is of the manager, and Valverde certainly has to step up. Experienced players like Busquets, Rakitic and Pique, whose contributions have been questionable in recent seasons, also have to play up to their calibre and help their captain lift the beautiful Champions League trophy again.
