FC Barcelona is going through a complicated moment. It’s not French Football Weekly who says this, but Xavi and his players, who spoke quite clearly after the defeat against Shakhtar on Tuesday evening. “We are going through a bad time in terms of play, turnovers and the way we attack. We had one of the worst matches in recent years tactically. It’s a mental problem. You have to do a reset. We are not comfortable in the game. It’s a bad feeling we have in the locker room, and me too as a coach”, for example launched the Barcelona coach. It must be said that if the balance sheet remains more than correct, both in La Liga and in the Champions League, the sensations left on the pitch are quite mediocre…
It must be said that the team displays a rather gloomy offensive performance. Weak and not very aggressive when recovering the ball, it is then in difficulty when it is necessary to produce play. And as explained by the Catalan media Sport this Wednesday, the Barcelona squad is very tired. The Barcelona group are aware that they are not at the expected level at the moment, and, as Xavi explained, believe they need a reset at all levels.
Mentally tough
Above all, the media indicates that on a mental level, it is difficult. The team is affected and does not really have morale, which then translates on the field into a much less fluid game, less risk-taking and, inevitably, more errors. We can say it, the Barça players are, for many, at the bottom of the hole, even if internally we do not yet want to give in to drama and we consider that there are not yet reasons to cry crisis .
The Blaugrana group considers that this November international break is timely, and that it will allow the players to breathe and regain strength, before continuing with this rather hellish schedule. This weekend, before leaving for the selection, Xavi’s troops will have a rather simple rival facing them: Alavés, promoted this season and fourteenth in the La Liga standings. Any result other than a victory would this time plunge Barça, more or less officially, into crisis…
