If you watch Barcelona at this point, you would understand how aptly this gif epitomizes the current situation of the club, as we’re halfway through the season its looking like another one of those trophyless outings for the Catalan side. After already being out of the Spanish Super Cup & the Copa Del Rey technically they still have 2 major trophies to fight for including La Liga and the Champions League (yeah good luck with that!) but most fans have lost hope with this season. And now with Xavi leaving the club in the summer things are not looking good this season.

Let’s take a closer look at the underlying issues plaguing this club and how might Barca actually turn this around if they can that is.

Xavi’s tactics at Barcelona

Xavi as a player has been a core part of the Spanish national team and the mighty treble winning Barcelona squad which purely dictates his instinct as a manager and how he means to preserve the Barca DNA.

Since his arrival, Xavi has been using his 3–2–2–3 formation in possession or a 2–3–5 shape to great effect as seen below, this shape offers a lot of advantages in build up from the back and chance creation upfront.

This formation consists of a lone striker upfront as Lewandowski, two inside forwards preferably Pedri/Gavi & Gundogan, two wingers/wide players to hug the touchline preferably Balde & Lamine/Raphinha, two pivots preferably Frenkie & Cancelo/Romeu and 3 centrebacks preferably Christensen, Araujo & Kounde.

Credit: The Purist Football

There is absolutely nothing wrong with Xavi’s approach as he has used the same structure to win the league last season by scoring a lot of goals but also maintaining a solid rest defence at the back. Xavi wants his players to equally spread around the pitch and occupy each zone so that every player has passing options around them and can combine easily to escape pressure. Having 5 players in the front line enables them to frequently pull opposition players from the backline to create space with smart off-the ball movements.

With highly technical players deeper such as Frenkie, Gundogan they create loads of chances every game with balls over the top, line breaking passes, swerving crosses. Having Pedri, Gundogan & Gavi between the lines is important as they can easily receive the ball under pressure and turn in tight spaces to play the final pass. With young players such as Balde & Lamine Yamal in wide areas you get runners in-behind as well as players willing to take on fullbacks everytime. And with 3 solid centre-backs in defence they should (in theory) be able to defend well right?

But that is not the case this season, now let’s take a look at some of the issues holding this team back

Squad depth

After getting rid of Fati, Dembele, Eric Garcia and Ez Abde in the summer window Barcelona were mainly looking to add to their squad depth upfront. But with Barca’s never ending financial struggles, it meant that they can only look for less costly replacements, as a result Oriol Romeu and Inigo Martinez were signed to improve their squad depth at the back.

After showing interest in both João Félix and João Cancelo, Xavi was able to get both on loan, all thanks to them falling out with their respective clubs. Where Félix was looking for a fresh start while Cancelo was purely looking for regular playtime under Xavi. With this Barca capped of a decent summer window as compared to their Spanish rivals who went gung ho to improve their squad as well.

Squad Depth Comparison after the Summer and Winter Transfer Window (Credit: Tribuna.com)

After a bothersome start to the season which saw Pedri & Frenkie getting injured and missing some important games in the first half of the season, Barca mostly relied on its youngsters with Lamine Yamal, Gavi and even Fermin getting some minutes every now and then.

Midway through the season they were hit hard by 2 more major injuries on regular first team players: Gavi and Ter Stegen which would see both of them missing the whole 23/24 season. Both of them were integral to Blaugrana’s success and the way they played last year which makes them difficult to replace.

Lack of finishing in the final 3rd

Source: fbref

A simple search query tells us that Barcelona have recorded the most xG in all of Europe’s top 5 leagues seconded only by Bayern Munich. But their lack of finishing up top has been a major concern as they have failed to hit the mark time and again. Though xG can be deceiving sometimes when teams attempt a lot of shots at goal, but if we look at npxG per shot Barca still ranks the highest in the league along with Girona.

While most top teams have exceeded their xG by scoring more with a fair margin Barcelona have struggled to put the ball in the back of the net, in fact among the top 15 teams in Europe they have the worst (Goals-xG) stat along with Chelsea (which is obviously not great company at the moment!).

Lewandowski’s dwindling numbers

Credit: Forbes.com

Robert Lewandowski who has been a stellar striker throughout his career has been struggling to even make an impact this season, he’s been pretty subpar when it comes to linking up, making incisive runs and even controlling the ball in the penalty area.

Part of this decline is understandable as he is not in his prime any more and is probably enjoying what might be his last few years of playing at the top level. But, with lack of clear striking options for Barcelona where they loaned out Fati in the summer window, and Ferran & Felix both reluctant to fill the #9 position it has become quite tricky and definitely raises questions on the squad depth.

Though Vitor Roque who was signed in the winter as a long-term prospect might be able to challenge Lewandowski and provide cover for him at this moment.

Defensive woes

B-A-C-K The defense in Europe?

Credit: Barca Worldwide (Twitter)

Generally when we think of Barcelona we think of fast free flowing football, a team boasting of highly technical players all over the pitch playing proper Cruyff football. We rarely see Barcelona being associated with the word “defensive solidity”, but that is what happened last season when Barcelona displayed the best defensive record not just in the league but all over Europe!

A big part of this performance was Barcelona’s newly formed Back 4 which consisted of new summer signings Kounde & Christensen along with Araujo and a young academy prospect Alejandro Balde. This back 4 was Xavi’s preferred combination when fit which conceded just 20 goals in 38 league games and 46 goals in 55 matches across all competitions!

But this season, fans have seen a mere hint of past glory achieved by this combination as they’ve failed to keep clean sheets time and again and keep conceding goals to every opposition they play. Defensive errors at the back have become quite common and their defensive structure seems deformed most of the time. But, who is to blame?

Missing Ter Stegen

Credit: Goal.com

Marc Andre Ter-Stegen who has been a loyal servant for the Blaugrana for almost a decade now, a club where he established himself as a world-class keeper and is undoubtedly the best ball-playing goalie in Europe right now is definitely being missed by everyone. He is a core part of the Barcelona defense as he vastly overperformed his expectations last season by keeping the most clean sheets in the league.

But Barca aren’t just missing his spider-like reflexes on the goal line, they are also missing his great passing range and ball playing prowess from the back. His ability to take charge against high pressing sides and playing a pinpoint ball to a free man upfront has been his career highlight and part of what makes him world-class.

Iñaki Peña who is currently filling for him in his absence has been subpar at best with a poor save percentage, he also clearly lacks the skillset Ter-Stegen has and still needs time to develop as a proper first team goalkeeper.

Conceding early goals

Conceding early goals almost every time has been the story so far this season as Barca conceded first in 7 out of 19 games before the winter break, with most of these goals coming just within 10 minutes post kickoff. As a result of the game state, Barca are bound to chase games every now and then which causes a lot of impatience among the players as they look to create chances as soon as possible.

Though this in theory should work in their favor but it has instead worked against them as an impatient pass during build up leaves them outnumbered at the back leading to a turnover at times when the defense isn’t expecting. This coupled with the fact that Barca have no natural ball-winners in midfield meaning their counterpressing has been pretty wasteful this season.

Gavi’s absence

Credit: Goal.com

Of all injuries that have plagued this team, Barca were hit the hardest by Gavi’s absence, yes a 19-year old midfielder from La Masia is literally the heart and soul of this Barcelona team. His pressing intensity and passion for winning the ball back is unmatched not just in Barca but all over Europe.

The Golden Boy winner is already a regular starter for club & country and has been hailed by Xavi as irreplaceable in his side, despite his short stature he is brimming with confidence and always gives his best in every duel despite the odds. With Barcelona boasting of a highly technical midfield in Frenkie and Gundogan, Gavi provides the bite it needs to dominate every game.

After Busquets’ departure, who was arguably the greatest holding midfielder of his generation and someone who perfectly fit the job description and the style of play at Barcelona, Barca have struggled to match his numbers whether it maybe in defensive actions or the ball-playing abilities he had. Gavi definitely does not match his profile but has stepped up his game alongside Busquets and after his departure in the defensive shift he puts in each game. His ability to man-mark Bellingham and nullify his presence for 70 minutes in the El-Clasico is what amazed me the most this season.

Gavi’s still leading the charts in the number of tackles put in by Barca players despite being out for a major part of the season as shown below. In fact, he’s the #1 ball winner for the team in the attacking 3rd phase of the game and significantly reduces the number of turnovers Barca face.

Gavi is a player I personally adore a lot and he is someone whose mere presence would fix a lot of issues with this team right now. My personal favorite memory of him will always be winning an aerial duel against Wout Weghorst in the Champions League who with all due respect towers over him .

The Left-back problem

Credit: Barca Blaugranes

The left-back role provides a tricky problem for the Catalan side in recent times which was sought to be over until the start of this season but instead grows even deeper. A 19-year old academy prospect Alejandro Balde in his breakout season showed the world why he deserves to be on the first-team sheet ahead of veteran full-back Jordi Alba. Balde exceeded everyone’s expectations and completely obliterated his critics with his stellar performances, despite that he has struggled this season and has definitely failed to make the same impact this year. But is it even Balde’s fault?

Balde’s role in Xavi’s system

As discussed earlier Xavi wants to stretch the opposition backline by playing 5 forwards when in possession and in this system Balde is the one who provides width on the left hand side of the pitch. This totally suits Balde’s traits as he is a naturally offensive fullback who can easily slip past defenders relying solely on his pace.

Which brings me to my main point: Balde is an offensive fullback and NOT a WINGER! Look at these stats below comparing wide players from this and last season. Comparing his stats to a proper winger we can see that he attempts less take-ons than actual wingers and instead likes to go around the opposition backline.

Comparing the two wide players per90 minutes in 23/24 season

Comparing the two wide players per90 minutes in 22/23 season

While Balde definitely found success by taking on players last season he has been a shadow of his former self this season and part of the reason is that his game is not about taking on fullbacks or dribbling his way through the opposition backline with the ball. Instead it is more about the off the ball movements and the burst of pace he provides to attack space to play dangerous passes/crosses in the penalty area, which brings me to my final point.

The left half-space problem

Well “A picture is worth a thousand words” and if there is any truth to that adage here it is. Look at this image below, this picture clearly explains some issues with this squad that often go unnoticed.

Barca vs Real Betis Matchday 21 (23/24 season)

This snapshot is from Barca playing against Real Betis which was also Balde’s last game after he was sidelined for the whole season. As we talked about Xavi’s structure before how he wants his players to occupy all zones when in possession so that every player has an outlet to play the ball to, in this case the left-half space is completely empty meaning that Balde has no one to combine with and has to play 1v2 against the two Betis players. This sequence results in Balde trying to take-on the fullback and playing an uncharacteristic cross which finds no one and possession is lost.

This issue is not limited to a particular sequence in this match, it has become a common theme among all matches this season which hinders Balde’s ability. The major issue here is player profiling, since the front five in possession consists of Lewandowski and Ferran playing together, both of whom like to drift into central areas and hence create this gap. Last season, this was not a problem as the front five usually consisted of Gavi and Pedri playing as the interiors so the wide players always found it easy to combine with them under pressure. But with Gavi, out of the picture Balde has been totally isolated on the left flank and can barely prove useful.

Some positives

Lamine Yamal

Credit: FC Barcelona

Barcelona have been blessed to have a Lamine Yamal among their ranks as the youngster has been beyond outstanding in his breakthrough season. In fact, Barca have been heavily reliant on this young prodigy this whole season who has lit up the league and is taking on every player left, right and center.

For me personally, Lamine has been the best forward in this team by a long shot and reminds me why I love watching this team. Despite being a 16-year old he is overflowing with confidence and is ready to take on defenders at will, escape from pressure and mature enough to release the ball at the right time. What amazes me is that he still has a lot of time to develop and with regular playing time in the coming seasons I’m thrilled to see what the future holds for him.

İlkay Gündoğan

Gündoğan has been nothing short of world-class since the start of this season and has easily become the most consistent player in the squad. While all the other midfielders have been ridiculed with some form of injury in different phases of the season Gündoğan has been Xavi’s go-to-man in the middle of the park.

Gundogan’s Heatmap this season (Credit: Sofascore)

Due to his technical brilliance and reliability he has played more minutes than other player in the squad and has contributed in single phase of play. Though his preferred position is as an interior upfront, he has also played as a pivot covering for Frenkie in his absence making him extremely flexible. With the season coming to an end Barca could definitely use his clutch potential and big game mentality to save this season.

Ending Note

Though most of these issues and problems discussed above just seem to be small tactical tweaks & psychological issues with the players and their dropping intensity this season, which is not as bad as it looks. Since, Barca don’t necessarily need new personnel they just need to reinvigorate themselves and a couple of good results might just do that.

I hope this blog was worth your time if you made till the end, this took a lot of time & effort and was also my first attempt at bringing my Football knowledge & Data Analysis skills to the table.

Thank you for reading and have a good day!