Barcelona’s meeting with Valencia on Monday night has seen individual shortcomings, once more, prove altogether costly for Xavi’s side.
Barca are of course currently locked in action.
In the final fixture of the La Liga gameweek, the Blaugrana have welcomed the aforementioned Valencia to Montjuïc, eyeing a return to winning ways.
With Girona having leapfrogged them back into 2nd in the table over the weekend, Xavi and co. headed into proceedings aware that nothing but three points would suffice.
As alluded to above, however, to this point in proceedings in Catalunya, high-profile errors have guided Barcelona away from as much, and instead towards defeat.
First, just shy of the half-hour mark, Marc-André ter Stegen was responsible for a moment of madness.
Attempting to chip the ball over the head of the oncoming Hugo Duro, Ter Stegen got it all wrong, seeing his effort blocked down, in the process allowing Valencia’s frontman to slot into an empty net.
Then, ten minutes later, it was the turn of Ronald Araújo, whose rash challenge on Peter handed the visitors the chance to take the lead from 12 yards, an opportunity which Pepelu went on to grasp with both hands.
This, of course, marks far from the first occasion on which impulsiveness on the part of the club’s stars has proven itself to be to the detriment of Barcelona of late.
On their way out of the Champions League, Araújo and fellow defender João Cancelo were also responsible for high-profile mistakes, with the latter’s disastrous display against Real Madrid last weekend having brought an end to the Blaugrana’s feint La Liga title hopes.
This is an area of the game in which vast improvement will be needed, if Barca hope to get back to challenging for major honours again next season.
Conor Laird | GSFN
