When a draw feels like a loss

-Sagar Follow @Sagar_m10

After two consecutive results, Barca were trying to focus on getting back to winning ways. Yet, there was a sense of casualness to the whole weekend as players were focused on the Club world cup rather than Deportivo. Except for Lucho who time and again kept stressing on how difficult they could be.

Sadly, everyone else treated this like a casual Friday at the office.

Turns out, he was right. Barca put out their strongest XI, bar Neymar, and they dominated their opponents for the majority of the match, and yet complacency crept in, as they ended up coming off the tie with just one point. The match was a strange collection of different ‘moods’ of Barcelona.

They started off on the right note, and built up a strong pressure. Then they started creating half chances that they could not convert, and when they did go in front, thanks to some individual brilliance of Messi and Rakitic, they left the foot off the accelerator, and then some individual mistakes cost them 2 points.

Pulling a ‘Deportivo’:

They had a clear game-plan like many others, and like many others, put bodies in the box. What they did manage to pull off exceptionally well, was how they forced Barca out wide, and trying to get them to only cross and nothing else. This worked wonders for them. Deportivo’s defense and midfield crowded the middle of the penalty area, dealt with all the crosses, and intercepted all the through passes. They hoofed the ball up field and, if lucky, they would break. But, if Barca regained possession, rinse and repeat, and send them out wide again.

Barca had to rely on Messi’s genius, as he scored a curling free-kick, and Roketic’s sublime strike to score. Both from outside the penalty area.

Deportivo pulled off a draw as they capitalized on two of Barca’s many mistakes and, though undeserved for the first 70 minutes, will feel they earned the 1 point.

They had a clear game-plan like many others, and like many others, put bodies in the box. What they did manage to pull off exceptionally well, was how they forced Barca out wide, and trying to get them to only cross and nothing else. This worked wonders for them. Deportivo’s defense and midfield crowded the middle of the penalty area, dealt with all the crosses, and intercepted all the through passes. They hoofed the ball up field and, if lucky, they would break. But, if Barca regained possession, rinse and repeat, and send them out wide again. Barca had to rely on Messi’s genius, as he scored a curling free-kick, and Roketic’s sublime strike to score. Both from outside the penalty area. Deportivo pulled off a draw as they capitalized on two of Barca’s many mistakes and, though undeserved for the first 70 minutes, will feel they earned the 1 point. Carelessness:

Be it the passing, the pressing, or the defending, Barca did them all with a sense of casualness. There were a lot of misplaced passes. Especially from ones you’d never imagine. Iniesta and Busquets are at the top of that list. Iniesta’s almost resulted in a chance, but for Deportivo player’s miscontrol, and Busquets’ led to the equalizer. It’s not to say they were the reason for this result. It was the entire backline, and the midfield (and substitution, but more on that later) that was unresponsive and uninspired. They switched off at the wrong moment when they were up 2 – 0. A lucky break where a goal that was conceded, which was ruled offside, did nothing to jolt them back into life.

Be it the passing, the pressing, or the defending, Barca did them all with a sense of casualness. There were a lot of misplaced passes. Especially from ones you’d never imagine. Iniesta and Busquets are at the top of that list. Iniesta’s almost resulted in a chance, but for Deportivo player’s miscontrol, and Busquets’ led to the equalizer. It’s not to say they were the reason for this result. It was the entire backline, and the midfield (and substitution, but more on that later) that was unresponsive and uninspired. They switched off at the wrong moment when they were up 2 – 0. A lucky break where a goal that was conceded, which was ruled offside, did nothing to jolt them back into life. The art of substitution and the lack of a bench (The ‘Xavi void’):

Sometimes getting the substitution right can lead to an amazing comeback, or it can help consolidate a lead. All in all, it injects freshness into the team and signifies a tactical change, for the better.

Munir for Sandro did neither. And, Mathieu for Alba might have signified a tactical change, but it was not for the better. Lucho has got it wrong in this field, be it last season’s Sevilla fixture, this season’s Valencia fixture (he got it wrong because there were no substitutions made in the entire 90 minutes), or this one. But, in his defense, Barca do not have a strong bench. Lucho had the luxury of having ‘XAVI’ on the bench last season, who could come in, control the tempo of the game, retain possession and see out the match. It’s not possible to replace Xavi, but Barca lack a player in the same mould. Someone who can control the proceedings in the final minutes with a clear head.

They can’t do much about it. The transfer ban and all.

_________________

Bravo tried to keep Barca in it, but the defense let him down time and again, and it was one too many. Alves put in another solid performance. Pique and Mascherano had a pretty horrid time. It was easy to clean up after Deportivo most of the time as the ball was cleared directly to them. On the occasions it was not, they struggled. Pique, who is now focused more about his rivals than Barca, was found off his position a lot. Mathieu for Alba was another turning point, as Mathieu was always on his heels, and not on his toes. He was ready to stand his ground and defend. LIKE A CENTER-BACK should. He is not a left-back, and will never be a good one. Lucho needs an able back-up for Alba. The irony of this situation is, during all this, Grimaldo the natural heir apparent to Alba, was scoring for Barca-B. Lucho has a natural replacement/backup. And, he is most definitely leaving Barca. Shame.



Iniesta, once again, glided his way throughout the match, and then switched in the final 15 minutes. Rakitic is finally getting his rhythm back. Messi and Suarez were exceptionally well, but there was a blockade of Deportivo players that hindered them at every step. Sandro didn’t provide enough to help Messi-Suarez with their task of overcoming Deportivo’s defense.

A draw would never have been a cause for concern, but two draws consecutively, from matches that Barca should have won, should really sting them. There is still no cause for concern as they’re still top of the table, will be tied on points with ATM (if they win), and two points ahead of RM.

Whether it is only complacency, or the lack of a good bench that is pushing the regulars to the ground, only time will tell.

Teams go through such blips. Better now than at the business-end of the season. Analyze, identify, and improve on them. That should be Lucho’s mindset right now. The result is far from being a real concern. But, it is enough to make Barca sit up, and self evaluate. Thoroughly. Time to get the defense in shape.

As the age old cliché goes. Defense wins you championships.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Deportivo:

Best: Lucas (A-): Scored their opener, and then set up their equalizer. He never saw much of the ball, but whenever his team went to attack, he combined well with his team-mates, and was good with his distribution.

Questionable display: Luisinho (C-): Was taken out of the equation most of the time. The only real contribution from him was that he was an extra body in the penalty area. That’s about it. He was not good defensively, was poor with his passes, and made some rash challenges.

Barca:

Best: Messi (A): Our MotM . Despite being ‘average’ by his standards, he lit up the field with his little ‘stop-and-start’ runs. Defenders were left confused as to where he would go, but unfortunately, they were one too many. Scored a spectacular free-kick to open the scoring.

Questionable display: Pique (C-): Was sloppy, out of position, and not completely focused on the match. He could not keep track of the runs, nor could he make interceptions convincingly. He did try, rather desperately, to score in the dying minutes, but to no avail.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

What Say You?!