Barcelona 1-2 Osasuna: 5 Talking Points | La Liga 2019-20

A distraught Lionel Messi
A distraught Lionel Messi

#3 Barcelona keep losing the ball in key areas

Barcelona just cannot catch a break this season
Barcelona just cannot catch a break this season

Lionel Messi in his post-match interview did not hold back any punches

It was a fitting summary of the season, where Barcelona seem to have forgotten their identity.

Against Osasuna, Barcelona lost possession in the attacking third and looked clueless about breaking a defence that had a clear plan in mind.

For that matter, Osasuna's second goal came from a careless header from Sergio Busquets who switched off at the most crucial stage of the game.


#4 Where was this hunger all season?

Another Lionel Messi gem
Another Lionel Messi gem

Barcelona might have lost the game tonight, but the match was not devoid of positives.

There was a sense of adventure in Barcelona's game tonight. The players ran more than usual, they took more shots than they do in most games and despite going 0-1 down in the 15th minute, they kept that adventure alive.

At the half time break, Barcelona had already taken 8 corners, 2 freekicks and fired in 8 shots. The problem, most of them were not on target.

However, it needs to be noted that, even if Barcelona had shown half the heart that they showed tonight on the pitch, the away record this season could easily have been different.

In a game that was marred by indecision in the attacking zones and indecisiveness in key areas, Barcelona actually played some positive football, a testament to the fact that this team can still offer exciting football. A brand that had been missing since the start of this season.


#5 Busquets, Suarez, Rakitic; it's the same problem for Barcelona

When will Barca learn?
When will Barca learn?

Why do we keep getting back to this again and again and again?

Out of the three mentioned, two of them were introduced between the 60th-67th minute. The single contribution from Suarez post his introduction was his offside goal; for the rest of the time, he was out of touch with the pace of the game. He tried things that did not come off, or he simply strayed offside during the Barcelona build-up.

Busquets, on the other hand, was decent-ish for the most part since his introduction, but, it was his horrendous error that cost Barcelona the game. He has been guilty of the same several times this season, and it has been a spectacular fall from grace for the once legendary Sergio Busquets.

With that out of the way, the final part of the problem trio that needs to be addressed is Ivan Rakitic. Absent for the most part of the game, Rakitic's lateral passing throughout the season has borne next to nothing.

With four assists and one goal in the entire season from the midfielder, it is probably time to do what Barcelona wanted to at the beginning of this season, get rid of Ivan Rakitic.

With just one match remaining in La Liga, Barcelona will try to redeem themselves by getting their hands on the Champions League trophy.

It is important and of utmost priority after what has transpired in the last 12 months, because the fans have finally run out of patience with FC Barcelona.

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