Girona

Villarreal

Real Madrid

Osasuna

Barcelona

Athletic Bilbao

Cadiz

Real Sociedad

Getafe

Betis

Celta Vigo

Almería

Regular Season

Atletico Madrid

Valencia

Alaves

Sevilla

Las Palmas

Rayo Vallecano

Mallorca

Granada

La Liga

Barca now 9 points behind La Liga leaders and 2 more under-radar stories of the day

Tribuna.com

 have thrashed Alaves 3-0 with Eric Garcia and Pablo Torre in squad.

They are now 9 points ahead of Barcelona in the league table.

Oriol Romeu receives Catalan Player of the Year prize

Napoli boss reacts to Champions League draw

 describes the upcoming games against Barcelona as 'difficult' and 'challenging'.

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compare Garcia under Xavi and under Girona coach...you see our problem is no far fetched..if u know u know

Mayorjohnholt

Eric is a bonafide starter in Girona. Consistency allows players develop. He wasn't perfect from day one; he grew into it. Xavi didn't want to let him go. But he allowed it because he was behind Araujo, Kounde, Chrstensen, and then we bought Martinez. Remember, it was Xavi who brought him from Man City, not Michel. Playing in the Blaugrana kit alone adds a thousand pounds of pressure; it is why not many people can perform under the weight of what it means to play for FC Barcelona. Eric's mistakes on defense at Girona are not scrutinized on every front news and media outlet and booed by fans, as they were when he was here. Ansu didn't do a single thing differently under De Zerbi than he did under Xavi. Frenkie is playing the best football of his entire career now, and he is doing it under Xavi. Hazard was an attacking monster at Chelsea, only to arrive at Real Madrid and become a dud under Zizou and Ancelotti. I guess by your reasoning, Xidane and Ancelotti are at fault. Just saying...

Soccerates

@Soccerates isn’t that down to coaching?

Barca Guru

@Barca Guru, Xg conversation rate is 30% coaching and 70% player execution. No coach taught Suarez how to be deadly. He had the instincts and the gift. Bellingham stepped on the pitch from day one at Real and imposed himself on goal. That had nothing to do with Ancelotti. Pep didn't teach Messi how to beat six, seven players, and still put the ball through the goalkeeper's legs. Neymar was doing wonders with the ball at Santos and came here and continued. The manager gives you the blueprint, encourages you, and puts you in a position to succeed.  The high Xg supports the fact that Xavi is actually doing his part in that regard. But we can't blame him for Felix, Lewandowski, and Raphina's wastefulness on goal. We have had a higher Cg in every game we have lost this season. That's insane. MSN were killers  in the final third; three ruthless assasins who formed the deadliest attack ever. Lucho had 30% to do with that frontline's success. Those guys would still outscore any team if you or I had been the manager. I am not downplaying the importance of a manager. But I don't want to understate how much more important the mindset and quality of the player is.

@Soccerates I’m not specifically talking about XG. More on the way we approach our games and play our games. Now I know we have couple bums in our squad. Good to great coaches make the best out of the norm. It’s been 2 years xavi has been at the helm. I’m yet to see a philosophy and identity. I’m just talking about the “basics” and some of them you’ve mentioned. Movement with and without the ball as a unit, creating spaces for yourself and others, pressing and counter pressing, building from the back with a GK that is great with his feet is a very big advantage.
Barcelona don’t have a CDM, Romeu is a bum. You cannot play a 433 formation if you don’t have a CDM. IMO seeing that we don’t have a CDM Xavi should play a double pivot and 4 in midfield to compensate for not having a CDM. We don’t control games, especially against the better teams throughout Europe. We won’t be successful this season playing 433 without a CDM. I don’t expect Xavi to be Innovation and get the best out of this current crop in terms of having them play football above their standards, that’s what great and effective systems do. This squad based on “talents” is one of the most talented squad in Europe IMO.

I agree that we should see more, @Barca Guru. We should be better. I'm just not sure this is entirely on the manager. I mean, Al Saad is hardly Barça, but the few games of theirs I was able to watch under Xavi had me asking if I wasn't watching Barça. The ball movement, crisp one-touch passes, and success were all there. Now you take the same manager and former Barça legend and ask him to do it here. And I don't see it. Now, the easy answer is that he is just not up to it in European football. But... here is another theory:

To play fluidly the way he wants them to play requires time, experiment, and an acceptable leeway for failure on the way to success. However, at Barça, the pressure to win trophies begins from day one. No leeway. No time. You essentially have to build the plane while already deployed in flight. So it's use what you have and what they know to achieve the best you can - which is what we seem to have.  I don't know, I could be wrong. I just think this making managers a pariah is too easy and it's getting old. Sometimes, the problem.really is with the players.

Then again, maybe I'm just making excuses for the gaffer. Time will tell. Lewandowski swears the team will be much better. It's the sort of commitment and determination that gives me goosebumps. We will see. But I'll tell you this much - I am 💯 certain Xavi is or will be one of the greatest managers in football. He is too intelligent a footballer not to be. Whether it happens at the club of his life remains to be seen.

And still you don’t see anything exceptional your dangerous

Okoli Obinna

@Okoli- doing all the basics right isn't necessarily exceptional football. Girona are a well coached team where everyone plays their part. Efficient isn't exceptional. I don't confuse the two.

Our problem is that we are not moving the ball quickly and progressively. We are to slow and predictable and our midfielders just do more of backpassing and attackers even Felix can’t dribble pass anyone and striker is totally useless at the moment. They go down under every opportunity they get because bo dedication

Ozed101

@soccerates I feel as though fans cannot separate Xavi the coach and Xavi the player. You don’t come to Barcelona to learn your trade IMO. Xavi doesn’t have the excuse of having Messi in the squad that would enable him to implement his philosophy and play style. I don’t care who you are as a coach, it should NEVER take you a couple years to have an identity, it’s 2 years now and still nothing is being seen on the pitch. I have a question for you. Do you see a play style or identity being imposed upon our opponents? Or do you see a coach that relies heavily on individual brilliance? Any team (and I’m speaking about Barcelona )
relies on spamming crosses into the box and looking for headers is a team with no plan, we’ve seen that for 2 years plus now. I watch Barca athletic and the women’s team EVERY WEEK even women’s CL. It makes me SICK TO MY STOMACH that these two other teams maintain our philosophy not because of personnel but because of coaching. I’m so scared with the progression of our youngsters under XAVI. Young players especially in today’s football have to be COACHED. Lamine, Fermin, Pedri, Balde, Gavi etc how do you think their progression is going? I just see vibes on the field. I’ve watched too many football over the years to not know a team that is being coached and a team that is coached. All I can do is just hope because I have no faith currently, what you put in is what you gonna get out as a team. Barcelona has become a laughing stock in world football.

Just watched Girona go back atop the table. I saw nothing exceptional; nevertheless, they did the following:

- They defended compactly and with discipline.
- They moved the ball quickly and progressively.
- When they lost the ball, they applied pressure without losing their shape. Eric Garcia has somehow turned out one defensive masterclass after another since arriving at Girona.
- Their wingers were not outstanding, but they were efficient. 
- Their forwards took their chancesbon goal.
- Finally, they played with the same intensity for three-quarters of the game; the fact that they played Alaves notwithstanding. 

All of which had me thinking- if Lewandowski who has to date lost 13 to 15  chances on goal, or Raphina who has lost 8 to 10 chances on goal, all converted even half of them, we are tied with Madrid if not atop the table.

Believe it or not, the porousness of our defense is directly proportional to our inefficiencies on offense. Every time we fail to convert in the final third, our defensive line moves up higher and farther, trying to compensate by adding numbers in attack. We inevitably lose the ball, and then the counter begins, which is often where we are caught; individual mistakes besides.

Right now, we simply have to put the ball in the net. We are the team who creates the most chances in La Liga and the team with the highest Xg across Europe, leading with 21.2, followed by Bayern - 21, PSG - 20.9, Newcastle - 19.7, and Real Madrid - 19.3. But we also lead with the worst Xg conversion ratio. It's enough to make one cry.

I imagine Xavi may start Guiu on Wednesday, and if not, it will likely be a 55th-minute substitution, which is just as well. Otherwise, maybe the fans will get their wish, and Hansi Flick will arrive, flick on a switch, and have us winning the treble and sextuple🙃 in his first snd second season. 

We just need to put that leather round ball between the sticks ⚽️. Period. It's the first step.

Believe it it leave, Xavi is the best coach for Barcelona now.He is trying to manage the squad he has, it's not easy for a big team coach to win titles with limited squad because the pressure on big teams are not the same with small team. Also Deco sign the players he believe is good for the team and he is not allowing the coach to get the players he wan. Deco signed rafinha, sent Garcia on loan, didn't do much in getting zubimendi, and he is the one that is selecting the type of midfielder we need. This is not good for any big team, I think we all need to give Xavi chance because the team is not playing badly but the problem is that we don't score with the chances will great, and Xavi will not enter the pitch to score those goals. And remember he is the only coach to perform well after Messi's era. Let's be patient this coach will be one of the best coach in our history if given the chance

chibyk

Thank you for your words bro,,Lewandowski is killing us a lot and unfortunately an idiot like Xavi doesn’t see all that,he’s good at sugarcoating his performances,the guy must leave or start from the bench,he needs jus 10-15 mnts of playing time,he’s not giving us anything that shows his still useful

Nkosilathi Moyo

The only part I don't like in your writeup is calling Xavi an idiot. Mutual respect is important even when we are are angry.

GodspowerAJ

Truth be told, I've always said that Xavi's biggest flaw is his stubbornness and failure to admit when he's wrong. There are a handful of untouchables in Xavi's starting 11, whether they perform or not, and quite frankly, I don't understand it.

Last season when Ferran was relatively poor, Xavi insisted on consistently including him in the starting 11. Come pre season where Ferran was literally golden, he decided not to play him in favor of a run down Lewandowski. Same with Raphinha, who last season HAD to play on the left to accommodate Dembele, despite not performing well on that wing.

The same thing this season where Xavi complained about lack of squad depth in attack, yet decided that he needed 4 or 5 midfielders Starting every match for whatever reason. 

I'm not saying he's an idiot, but a smart man doesn't need to make the same mistake 37 times before he realizes the error of his ways.

Miguel Serans

Our biggest problem at the moment is, hands down, Lewandowski. Say what you will about the whole team going through a slump, but this whole season Lewandowski has been our worst performer by far. Even in the games in which he's scored, he's been underwhelming to say the least.

His positioning and movement off the ball leave alot to be desired. He was never an excellent mover of the ball but somehow has managed to get worse at it, and his best trait, lethal finishing, has been non-existent.

Players like Ferran and Raphinha, who are also going through goal scoring droughts, still manage to bring something to the team in terms of positioning and passing. Arguably, Guiu, the player most deserving of a starting spot at the moment, has rarely been given an opportunity in favor of a run down Lewandowski.

Truth be told, we need Roque and we need him bad come January. Lewandowski needs to be offloaded in January and we can keep Roque and Guiu as 1st team options. Having them, supported by a rotating squad of Raphinha, Yamal, Ferran, and Felix on the wings will revitalize our attack, with Lewandowski being nothing but dead weight at this point.

Player		G
Artem Dovbyk	Girona	19
Alexander Sørloth	Villarreal	17
Jude Bellingham	Real Madrid	17
Ante Budimir	Osasuna	16
Robert Lewandowski	Barcelona	16

Barca now 9 points behind La Liga leaders and 2 more under-radar stories of the day

Girona win again

Oriol Romeu receives Catalan Player of the Year prize

Napoli boss reacts to Champions League draw

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