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Blasphemy! How can a club like Barcelona end up trophyless this season? They are yet to lose a game in the league and have an important away goal against Chelsea in the Champions League. They are also in the final of the Copa del Rey, where they will face Sevilla.
Everything implies that Barcelona have a great chance to win at least a trophy this season. Heck, they might as well go on to win a treble of trebles this term. There is, however, also a chance that everything crashes and they miss every trophy there is to win.
Obviously, the chance of that happening is almost zero. If, however, it does happen, it will be because of these five reasons…
#5 Misfiring Dembele
In the summer of 2017, Barcelona's main target was Marco Verratti. A failure to get him also led to them losing Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain. At that time, it became imperative for them to sign a replacement—and so they did in the form of Ousmane Dembele.
Now, let’s not make a mistake here: Ousmane Dembele is what people could call an ultimate talent. The youngster can make fools out of experienced defenders like they were his pastime toys. Ever since his move to Barcelona, however, he has been marred by injuries.
As a result, his form has taken a hit and it seems as though it will be quite a while before he reaches his optimum peak—and it may hamper Barcelona’s chances this season, especially due to the…
#4 Lack of depth in Champions League
With Ousmane Dembele’s erratic form, it has become increasingly difficult for Barcelona to find quality options on the bench—especially in the Champions League. Philippe Coutinho is a fantastic player and is certainly a world-class option from the bench, but he is cup-tied in the Champions League and can’t play for Barcelona in the knock-out stages of the tournament.
As a result, they have the likes of a misfiring Ousmane Dembele, perpetually out-of-form Andre Gomes and the rarely-used Paco Alcacer on the bench to look at.
While Yerry Mina can play in the Champions League, what difference will a defender make if/when the team is in a position where they need to score goals in order to progress to the next round?
#3 Crunch-time
In a football season, the months of March and April are usually the crunch-end of the season. This is a time for a team to make or break a season. Barcelona are already feeling the heat of the month as they have drawn three of their last four games in the Champions League and La Liga combined.
Last season, they lost two games in March and April and the season before, they lost three and drew one in the same time-frame. At times, it feels as though Barcelona are showing signs of fatigue and it could cost them at a time when it matters the most.
And going by the way recent history has suggested, the Catalans look like they could crumble.
#2 Rising Atleti
They are a team enjoying a good run of form. Indeed, the last time the Rojiblancos dropped points was on the 20th of January. They also have the advantage of not playing in the Champions League or the Copa Del Rey.
As a result, their focus solely lies on the league because Europa League shouldn't really be a concern for the Rojiblancos as they are likely to use their fringe players. Diego Simeone’s men are only 7 points behind Barcelona and will also face them before the season’s conclusion. A win there would reduce the gap to four points.
The disadvantage with Barca is that they will also have midweek Champions League matches to attend to, something which Atleti don’t, which, subsequently, could keep their key players fitter.
#1 Messi reliance
The thing with Lionel Messi is that he is perhaps the only player in the world that doesn’t let you down, in most cases, when you rely on him. He is, however, human. Yes, people think that he is a God—and when he plays at his best, it does feel like that—but even his body ha limitations.
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The Argentine has played the most minutes for Barcelona among the outfield player and ranks second only to Gerardo Moreno in La Liga in that regard. Playing so much football is bound to make a player feel jaded after a while, which can affect his performances.
So far, Messi has done incredibly well to save the team countless times. However, Barcelona look like a heavily disjointed team where Messi connects the dots. If, however, he falls, he takes Barcelona with him.
