Barcelona: Martino gambles with his fleeting back-line despite the lessons of seasons past

With the home side 6-0 up at half-time without the help of Neymar, and eventual winners by 7 goals to nil, there was little word to be had on supposed defensive frailty. Perhaps that is the plan, relying on the declining standard of La Liga to cover up defensive leaks with displays of attacking dominance.

Carles Puyol has had limited game time over the last couple of years due to injuries

This, after all, is a side that has scored over 90 goals in each of the last five seasons and amassed point tallies above 90 in four of those five campaigns. There will be a feeling in the Martino camp as well as many onlookers, that with Neymar and Messi being supplied by a mesmerically gifted supply chain of Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Cesc Fabregas, they could field two amateurs at centre-half and still register enough points to win the league title.

There can be no escaping in the Nou Camp hierarchy however, the schooling they received from eventual champions Bayern on the European stage last April and there surely can be disillusion that if they were to reach the latter stages once more, they cannot afford to go to battle with the elite armed with such a rocky defence.

What matters domestically though are the two El Clasico meetings with Madrid and under the newly-implemented guidance of Carlo Ancelotti, they are likely to put up more of a challenge than the 15 point deficit they conceded to Barca last term.

With 35-year-old captain Puyol, still sidelined through injury, having made just 12 appearances last season and Piqué also having a history of fitness struggles, he has started only 44 league games out of a possible 76 in the last two campaigns, there is a great deal of naivety in Martino’s decision to rely on just two established centre-halves, both of whom notoriously battling fitness issues, until at least the winter transfer window.

Martino mentions the 22-year-old Barta as an option, yet the La Masia graduate has made just 24 appearances in four years at the club whilst Mascherano and Adriano have been repeatedly asked to convert from their natural midfield stations to fill in at the back.

Lack of pace and the tendency to be caught on the counter-attack is also an overriding issue, Madrid carved them open in an unerring display on the break in last season’s Copa Del Rey while Atletico Madrid, in the 1st leg of this year’s Supercopa, utilised their own frantic counter to score the game’s opening goal through David Villa. There seems to be a willingness to ignore the lessons despite them repeatedly being taught.

Neymar may have been added to an attack-line already packed with extraordinary firepower and talent, but it is all being built on the rockiest of foundations. “I knew what the club was doing before I came here and what they wanted, even when Tito was here,” said Martino, possibly aware of the need to bring in a centre-back.

The priority was Neymar, then a chase for a central-defender, which Martino has cut off to instead gamble with the creakiest of back-lines. It will almost certainly cost them success on the continent but it may also cost the La Liga, too.