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#1 Not playing with a free mindset
Coming into the 2nd leg against Liverpool, Barcelona had AS Roma back in their mind. Even after leading 3-0 in the tie, Barcelona were not sure whether they would progress to the final or not. Barcelona recently have been struggling under the weight of expectations that they have put themselves under after dominating in the domestic league for almost a decade. The players now feel the pressure to prove themselves in Europe and hence have not been able to express themselves freely on the pitch.
In 2015, when Barcelona went to Allianz Arena after beating Bayern Munich 3-0 in the first leg of the semi-finals, they conceded a goal in the 9th minute itself. Yet, they never doubted themselves and scored 2 goals in the next 20 minutes and progressed to the final. In the final in Berlin, when Morata equalized in the second half for Juventus, Barcelona never looked like conceding more goals. Now, you look at the current team and wonder if they could have played the same way as they did a few years ago and the answer is probably a big "NO".
Look at Real Madrid who have been accused of not playing the best football in Europe, still, have won 3 Champions League back-to-back. The reason behind this is that they play freely and never doubt themselves even under the toughest of circumstances.
De Jong will join Barcelona next season and if rumours from the Dutch media are to be believed de Ligt too is on his way to Barcelona. Also, the club will probably sign 1 or 2 more players in the summer transfer window. But if Barcelona doesn't forget it's past glories and play with a free mindset, even with the new crop of players, another humiliating defeat on the road next season looks inevitable.
