What's going on with Barcelona?

15 February 2017 11:32

Barcelona risk an early elimination from the Champions League after losing 4-0 in the first leg of their last-16 tie with Paris St Germain.

With their LaLiga crown also on the line, here we examine why things are going so badly for the Catalan club at the moment.

Q: How have Barcelona managed to concede four goals in one game twice in one season?

Barring their 2015-16 season-opening 5-4 thriller against Sevilla in the UEFA Super Cup, Barca's defence was incredibly mean as they won the Spanish double with relative ease.

But a 4-3 reverse at Celta Vigo in October exposed their latent defensive fragility and the common denominator between that game and Paris was makeshift full-back Sergi Roberto, who played particularly poorly in the French capital.

Luis Enrique has still not settled on a permanent backline, with natural midfielder Roberto often drafted in while Aleix Vidal is more adept as a winger than at right-back.

Q: What's wrong with 'MSN'?

Most clubs would be satisfied with a front three who can score 90 league goals between them over the course of a single season, but Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar are underperforming.

At this stage of the campaign the strikeforce known as 'MSN' has 43 goals in LaLiga and only 14 more in Europe. French newspaper L'Equipe considered the trio so bad in the Paris defeat that Messi and Suarez were given 2/10 in the player ratings, with Neymar considered a superior performer at 3/10.

Messi, who did not take a touch in the PSG box during open play, is notching at a modest rate in the league and appears to be fatigued, but Luis Enrique refuses to rest him. This weekend's meeting with lowly Leganes offers an opportunity to revise and revitalise these misfiring attacking outlets.

Q: What is Barcelona's best midfield combination?

It was not the one employed by Luis Enrique on Tuesday night, that much is certain. The boss drafted in the out-of-favour Ivan Rakitic for the recent 6-0 hammering of Alaves but despite a goal in an impressive performance, the wily Croatian was dropped.

Andre Gomes, ineffective at Alaves, retained his place and was run ragged while the ageing Andres Iniesta replaced Rakitic and did not last anywhere near the 90 minutes at the Parc des Princes.

Sergio Busquets was the only midfielder who stood up to the dominance of Adrien Rabiot, Blaise Matuidi and Marco Verratti, an impossible tide to hold back for one man.

Q: How much of this is Luis Enrique's fault?

Luis Enrique reportedly had to be separated from Catalan journalist Jordi Grau after full-time in Paris. The 46-year-old Asturian was understood to be unhappy with the tone of the TV3 man's questions. It will come as little surprise that large sections of the Barca faithful are unhappy with the head coach.

Former Nou Camp midfielder Luis Enrique was a familiar face but an entirely unexciting appointment when he succeeded Gerardo Martino, yet he won round most doubters with a treble haul in 2014-15.

He let the Champions League fall to hated rivals Real Madrid the next year and this season it looks like LaLiga will go to the Bernabeu, with the European Cup almost certainly out of reach. A place in the Copa del Rey final offers scant consolation as, under Luis Enrique, Barca are going backwards.

Q: So how do Barcelona pull off the comeback?

The Catalan giants have achieved similar feats in the past, overturning AC Milan's surprise two-goal first-leg lead in March 2013 to triumph 4-2 on aggregate - and without the benefit of an away goal.

Messi had one of his best nights in a Barca shirt on that occasion and the key to any history-making revival - no team has progressed after losing a first leg 4-0 since 1971 - must be the Argentinian.

When Messi is in full flow he does not only plunder goals galore but shoots confidence through his team-mates, typically eliciting sublime displays from his partner-in-crime Suarez on his best nights. Without MSN at their lethal best, which was a distant memory in Paris, Barca will fail.

Source: PA-WIRE