Three things we learned from Barcelona 0-0 Slavia Prague
Ernesto Valverde’s worst moments as Barcelona boss have come in the Champions League, and he hit another low on Tuesday when his team were whistled off the pitch against Slavia Prague.
The fans’ frustrations were understandable after watching a team packed full of talent follow up their dismal showing against Levante with another wretched display.
Slavia Prague are regarded as the weakest team in the group but outplayed the Catalan giants on their own pitch and will be disappointed not to have taken home all three points.
Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images
As for Barcelona, well they were a mess, lacking cohesion throughout the team and it was not at all clear what Valverde wanted from his players.
Antoine Griezmann looked completely lost out on the left once again, Arturo Vidal was chaotic, Ousmane Dembele frustrating and even Lionel Messi couldn’t quite conjure up a win out of nowhere.
Barcelona are still likely to qualify for the knockout stages, probably even as group winners, but can anyone in the world see them going much further while Valverde remain in charge?
Unsurprisingly Messi looked Barcelona’s best bet of a goal all night and came close with a brilliant shot that thundered against the woodwork after a typical run.
He also had another couple of decent efforts saved by the goalkeeper, one after a rather neat pass from substitute Ansu Fati, as Barcelona drew a rare blank at the Camp Nou.
First time in seven years that Barca have failed to score in a Champions League group game at the Camp Nou.
— The Spanish Football Podcast (@tsf_podcast) November 5, 2019
Yet Messi can’t keep on doing it all by himself and Barcelona really need their other forwards to step up if they are to go on and achieve anything this season.
Valverde’s decision to keep Griezmann out wide on the left was as baffling as it was frustrating and saw the Frenchman contribute very little.
It’s still too early to judge Griezmann but it’s fair to expect a lot more from a player who cost €120 million.
Ousmane Dembele looked very much like a player who hasn’t played much in the last month or so.
He created moments of danger but also made some pretty poor decisions too.
Valverde said before the match Dembele needed to earn his place in the team, but who knows if he has done enough to convince his manager to start him against Celta next time out.
