4 factors behind Barcelona's struggles this season | La Liga 2019-20

The 2019/20 season has taken off already, with European powerhouses going head-to-head once again as they battle it out on the pitch. While a number of top clubs including the likes of Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Manchester City have wasted no time in making their impacts felt with brilliant starts, there are still a few clubs who are yet to get the ground running. Catalan giants FC Barcelona are one of them.

The Blaugrana have endured a difficult start to the new campaign, failing to convince with their efforts on the pitch and finding themselves under intense pressure as a result. Barca lost their first game of the season to Athletic Bilbao and it has only gotten worse from there.

After recording just 7 points from their 5 LaLiga fixtures so far, Ernesto Valverde's men find themselves at the eighth position on the LaLiga table. They also had a Champions League opener to forget as they failed to put up a good show against Borussia Dortmund and were lucky to come out with a point. On that note, let's assess the four main factors behind the club's struggles so far this season:

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#4 Leaky defense

The defense has failed to turn up

Barcelona have a number of problems that have derailed their start to the season. One which cannot be overlooked is their struggle at the back.

Barca's defense has been nothing to write home about this season. Gerard Pique, Clement Lenglet, Jordi Alba and Nelson Semedo have all failed to convince with their performances so far. They conceded in their opening game of the term against Athletic Bilbao as Aritz Aduriz scored a late goal to hand them their first defeat of the new campaign.

Ever since then, the backline has been conceding at a worrying rate. Barca have failed to record a clean sheet in any of their 6 games across all competitions so far this season, conceding 9 in the process and falling to defeat on two occasions.

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#3 Tactical issues

Valverde has appeared clueless in recent games

Another issue behind Barca's poor start to the season can be traced down to the tactics of Ernesto Valverde. The Spaniard has a lot of work to do in setting up his team and how they operate on the field, as their efforts so far have failed to produce tangible results.

In most of the games the Blaugrana have played this season, they've appeared as though they are out of ideas as they pass the ball around without clear intentions. They enjoy a lot of possession but can't just make enough out of it.

In the game against Dortmund, the Blaugrana weren't clicking together as a team and were really lucky to have avoided a defeat early in their Champions League campaign this season. The same occurred during their last encounter with Granada, where they were punished by the newly promoted side who emerged victorious 2-0 at home - thanks to goals from Ramon Azeez and Alvaro Vadillo.

#2 Misfiring attack

The team has struggled to break down opposition defenses

For a team to be firing on all cylinders, every department needs to offer its best. Goals are needed in order to achieve victory, and hence, the attack must be prolific to keep the team moving forward. Unfortunately for Barca, their attack hasn't been up to par so far this season and that has also contributed towards the club's problems.

Barca have failed to find the back of the net in three of their six games so far this season. They scored against Valencia, Osasuna and Real Betis, but fired blanks against the likes of Athletic Bilbao, Granada and Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League.

A team that struggles to get goals will definitely find it difficult to impress. Barca need to find a way to kick-start their attack as soon as possible in order to find their feet and save their sinking ship. Otherwise, it will be impossible to overturn their terrible start to the season.

#1 Injury crisis

Injuries to key players contributed to Barca's struggles

One of the biggest problems behind Barcelona's sluggish start to the season is their ill luck with injuries. The Blaugrana have been ravaged by injuries since the build-up to the new term and that has manifested itself as a troubled start to the campaign.

Lionel Messi was the first to get sidelined a few days before the season opener after picking up a calf injury in training. The Argentine couldn't feature in Barca's first four games of the term due to the knock and was only passed fit by the medical team recently.

Luis Suarez also injured his knee during the game against Athletic Bilbao while Ousmane Dembele followed suit and is yet to feature following the injury he sustained in the same game. With three of Barca's attackers sidelined for most of the term so far, Ernesto Valverde's men struggled to make an impact up front, which has contributed immensely to their problems this season.