Barcelona’s latest struggles within the latter a part of the 12 months may be attributed to a number of key elements, with the crew exhibiting a transparent dip in type, significantly in La Liga.
One of many important points has been their incapacity to duplicate their early-season effectiveness in entrance of aim.
At the start of the marketing campaign, Barcelona had been medical, ending possibilities with precision, however this has since dropped off.
After a disappointing defeat to Atletico Madrid, a revealing statistic emerged that highlighted simply how a lot the crew’s attacking energy has faltered.
Barcelona are underperforming
It have to be famous that Barcelona initially overperformed of their attacking stats, scoring 15.5 extra objectives than anticipated of their first 17 video games of the season, transferring from 39.5 anticipated objectives (xG) to 55 objectives scored.
Nevertheless, of their final eight matches, they’ve underperformed, scoring 3.3 fewer objectives than anticipated.
Whereas their xG dropped from 20.3 to 17, the crew continues to create clear scoring alternatives however has struggled to transform them into objectives on the similar price as earlier within the season.
La diferencia de eficacia del Barça en función del Anticipated Purpose (xG; mide las probabilidades de marcar y calidad de ocasiones)
Primeros 17 partidos
xG: 39,5 –> 55 GF (+15,5) 🎯
xA: 16,7 –> 16 GC (-0,7)Últimos 8 partidos
xG: 20,3 –> 17 GF (-3,3) 🎯
xA: 10,7 –> 12 GC (+1,3)— Fermín Suárez (@FerminSuarez03) December 21, 2024
It’s clear that Barcelona have been wasteful in entrance of aim. It the crew had taken their possibilities, significantly in latest matches, they might have probably secured higher outcomes.
Regardless of creating loads of alternatives, Barcelona are unable to problem the opposition.
Protection is underneath stress too
Defensively, Barcelona’s type has additionally declined. Throughout the identical interval, the crew’s defensive efficiency has worsened, with the variety of objectives they’ve conceded transferring from 0.7 fewer than anticipated to 1.3 greater than anticipated.
Whereas this alteration isn’t as drastic as their attacking stoop, it’s clear that Flick’s facet has misplaced some management in key areas of the pitch, each offensively and defensively.
Because the crew heads into the Christmas break, it’s evident that Barcelona have work to do. The gamers might want to use this time to recharge and refocus, addressing the problems which have seen their earlier type slip.
The hope is that once they return, they will apply the required adjustments to get again on observe and rediscover the momentum that made them a powerful power earlier within the season.
