As the dust settled and final whistle blew at the Camp Nou there was stark contrast between the so called ” Greatest ” team in the world and a ruthless German opposition who were tactically and physically more superior than their Spanish opponents. Possession stats can be deceiving in most Barcelona games they are, but the real numbers that matter are the goals column. With an aggregate victory which was a resounding 7 goals for Bayern without any reply from the most attacking team in the world question are bound to raise as to why a team consisting of some magical players like Messi , Xavi , Iniesta were in no way able to unlock a stubborn and robust defensive unit and whether this points to decline or an early indicator that the golden era of Catalans is coming to an end ?.
For starters it would naive to rule out a team of Barcelona class and with the world’s best player in their squad they will be fighting for European honors for seasons’s to come , however that said there is no denying the fact the need for inquest since the frailties exposed by Bayern are bound to be exploited by other top teams in the future. The list is problems begin’s from the back line which is as best a make shift one with Barca preferring to play tic tac style of football of passing the ball around , this crisis has magnified with Pique out of form and Puyol coming to an end of his career and the need to address this immediately, since a strong back four is fundamental foundation for any team , more so Barcelona since both their wing backs are in the opposition half.
The second issue is of the goalkeeper victor Valdez who’s always been on the butt of many jokes , hes not exactly the goalkeeper the worlds best team would want. He’s goal keeping howlers and lack of positioning under the post has meant the Catalans are always at threat to concede on the counter. The last problem that needs to be resolved is the need for a transition Xavi is already 34 years old and seems to be tiring and there is need to blood in youth into the team and get rid with non performers with the likes Alexis Sanchez, Alex Song and others. These players to be replaced in order to ensure depth in squad and also quality on the bench . Last but not the least if Barcelona can get Messi like he always has been they enter every game as irrespective of opposition they face.
