FC Barcelona’s
uninspiring away form this season has left much to be desired and called into
question Ernesto Valverde’s capacity and tactical nous as the head coach of the
Catalan based club.
In no way is this
breaking news, that many Cules globally have lost faith in the Spaniard’s
method. After the Rome capitulation two seasons ago, there has been a general
sense of insecurity with regards to the Former Bilbao manager’s style of play,
the predictability of his side and the lack of free-flowing beautiful soccer
accustomed with Barca. Against Roma in 2018, it was Kostas Manolas piercing a
sword through the hearts of many Barca fans worldwide with the third goal, a
sucker punch, which in subsequent years will be telling on how Ernesto’s
version of Barcelona will be addressed. The Bottlers?
The fact is, Roma
knocking FC Barcelona out of the Champions League in the Quarter-finals could
be forgiven because it’s the Champions League and surprises like these are
simply inevitable. Maybe, Roma’s 3-0 comeback to exit Barca from the CL despite
being oddly strange, could still be forgiven. But for many, what can’t be
pardoned is a repeat of the same scenario a year later against Liverpool.
Valverde to blame entirely?
In Rome, it was Kostas
Manolas heading home the corner to make it 3-0 on the scoresheet and initiating
a series of crises that would unfold in the same competition a year later.
Indeed, Divock Origi didn’t disappoint and what had been scripted already in the
Greek books would finally be fulfilled when he converted from Trent
Alexander-Arnold's quickly taken corner-kick to make it 4-0 to complete the
comeback. Two corners in two years straight, completing two extraordinary
comebacks. “Once bitten, twice shy”, but twice bitten how many times shy?
Currently, there’s a
strange feeling that this Barca side haven’t recovered from these shocking
comebacks over the last two years. And this season’s poor away form has all the
more emphasized this belief. Over the weekend, Nemanja Radoja’s beautiful
strike handed Los Cules their third La Liga defeat. In shocking perspective,
Barca lost only three La Liga games in the last campaign. They have lost 3 now
from 11 games played.
At Nou Camp, FC
Barcelona have been incredibly rampant and in good form as opposed to how
uninspiring they have been away from home. A 5-1 thrashing of Valladolid and an
emphatic 4-0 win over Sevilla in the last two Nou Camp games are what makes us
believe the team doesn’t need a drastic overhaul. The cracks are still there
for all to see and this time have been showcased much earlier. This might be
Valverde’s last season in charge, but he needs to learn how to goad a reaction
from his men in decisive away games.
Credited to Bright Nana
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