Leganes 1-2 Barcelona: 5 Talking Points & Tactical Analysis | La Liga 2019-20

#4 Is Antoine Griezmann becoming an acute misfit at Barcelona?

Griezmann had another poor outing

Back in the summer, Antoine Griezmann dominated the back pages across Europe, courtesy his impending move to Barcelona from Atletico Madrid. Eventually though, the Blaugrana managed to acquire his services, thereby sending their fans into a frenzy with many hoping for the Frenchman to act as the missing piece of the attacking jigsaw.

However, nothing of that sort has transpired so far, meaning that Antoine Griezmann has endured a tough start to life at the Camp Nou, a fact emphasised by the constant criticism he has received. And, he certainly didn’t aid his cause with another listless showing away to Leganes on Saturday.

Alongside the likes of Lionel Messi and Suarez, the Frenchman seemed a fish out of water after being entrusted with manning the flank. He never really got into the game and was left to feed off scraps as the Leganes defenders swarmed all over him whenever he received possession.

More importantly, though, another aspect came to the fore at the Butarque. Griezmann has often been at his best when functioning as a secondary striker behind a target man or when deployed as a pure No.10, with the freedom of roaming across the field.

However, with Messi ahead of him in that pecking order, the Frenchman has found it tough to sprinkle his quality on this Barcelona side. Inevitably, he has contributed to the Blaugrana’s lack of width courtesy his tendency to keep drifting in-field.

A few seasons ago, a certain Messi, Suarez and Neymar trio had wreaked havoc throughout Europe with them being labelled the best triumvirate ever to have worn a Barcelona jersey.

And, though Griezmann, Messi and Suarez was never expected to scale such peaks, it probably has fallen exceptionally short, especially in light of the Frenchman’s suitability to the role.