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As the referee blew the final whistle at the new San Mames stadium condemning Barcelona to their second successive defeat of the season, a possibly dejected Lionel Messi would have switched off his television in Argentina, directing all his frustration at the poor power-off button of the remote control. Well, maybe he did or maybe he did not, but that is what I did in India, having battled my drooping eyelids for over 2 hours thanks to the late kick-off time.
If the first defeat was considered as just a blip in an otherwise smooth campaign till now, the second defeat makes it kind of customary that we suggest Barca is in a crisis and is dearly missing Messi/ is a one-man team/ needs a defender or blame the new manager.
But first let us look at the big picture. The defeat against Ajax was a match of not much significance, having already qualified for the next round in the Champions League, although the first place in the group is still up for grabs. The defeat against Bilbao is the first league defeat and Barca still top the table, although by a slender margin of two goals. Therefore, as far as results go, Barca could have done much much worse in a season where a new manager has come in and the club’s best player is not in his best form.
As for the reasons behind the losses, yes, Messi is dearly missed and Barca is very dependent on Messi. Neymar was brought in to solve precisely this problem by adding a lethal goal-scoring dimension. After coming in and quickly adapting to the team style, he has helped the team with many assists and his reputation is evident in the fact that he is the most fouled player in the league. But he is not as fearsome in front of goal in the Blaugrana colours as he is for Brazil. People who have been expecting goals of the kind that he scored in the Confed Cup, especially the fearsome volley which was the opening goal of the competition, will surely be disappointed. He has been unusually ineffective in front of goal, even when presented with one-on-one opportunities.
Therefore, although Barca has arguably the best attacking personnel in the world, the sharp end of that sword is still Messi and he will always be missed and the sooner he is back, the better for Barca.
As for the manager, against Bilbao, he fielded his best available starting eleven, probably because he was without Messi for one of the toughest away fixtures in the league. Until now, Martino has stuck to his rotation policy and his tactics have drawn flak from the media as Barca were winning games, but were not playing their best football. Martino stuck to his pragmatic guns and Barca significantly increased the number of long balls played in order to either relieve pressure when building from the back or because there was a good chance of the pass reaching the intended target.
Whatever his philosophy is, Martino is definitely not a big fan of tiki-taka, at least not as much as Vilanova and Guardiola. Since this is only the second defeat, he will be given the benefit of the doubt, but he will be well aware that if this form continues, the Camp Nou crowd who love the passing carnival will get more and more restless.
Martino has led a relatively easy life on the Camp Nou hotseat so far, thanks to the results.
In both the losses, it was clear that the other team worked harder off the ball and were more intense through the 90 minutes. Barca put on a better show at Bilbao than at Amsterdam, but will need to improve their energy levels if they are to have a successful season, especially for difficult away fixtures such as these. It is alarming to imagine what will happen during the run-in period at the end of the season if this trend continues. Their creativity may bail them out in most situations, but all that is needed is one-slip up, be it the Champions League, or in La Liga thanks to Atletico Madrid having a phenomenal season.
Atletico are now really serious contenders in the league and dare I say it, in the Champions League as well. They have lost just one game this season, and unlike Barca and to an extent Real Madrid, are well-settled, are crystal clear about their game plan and have a very well-balanced side. Although Diego Simeone keeps saying that they can’t keep up with the Catalan giants and their city rivals who have deep squads, the team keeps performing with ruthless discipline. Come the World Cup in the summer, this might even prove decisive for the Spanish National Team as strikers David Villa and Diego Costa are running the show upfront from Atletico so very well.
Real Madrid are also just 3 points off the top of the table and Ancelotti looks to be finding some kind of rhythm in his team’s play, thanks largely to the return of Xabi Alonso. In the absence of the world’s second costliest player, the world’s costliest player took responsibility as Gareth Bale scored his first hat-trick for the club. After the defeat to Barcelona, Real Madrid has scored a whopping 24 goals in the next 5 league games. Incidentally that streak began when Alonso returned from injury. So, it was a good piece of business for the Bernabeu when the midfielder recently put pen to paper on the new deal that will keep him at the Spanish capital till 2016.
All in all, the duopoly of La Liga looks to have finally ended, thanks to Atletico. Barca will be anxiously waiting for the return of Messi, Atletico will be hoping their squad will not have to face any kind of injury crisis and Real will be hoping that either of the aforementioned teams slip up somewhere.
If I was a fan of EPL, I would say La Liga just got a little less boring.
