A consistent problem for Barcelona under Ernesto Valverde was once again exposed by Lyon in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Last September, Lionel Messi promised Barcelona fans he and his teammates would win the Champions League. “It’s unique, special, the best thing to be playing for at club level,” he said. “A totally different competition and we all want to win it.” On the basis of the Catalan side’s performance in Lyon, the Argentine appears to be one expected to do the heavy lifting in achieving that dream.
With the full-time whistle in Lyon, Barcelona and their players achieved some unwanted landmarks. Luis Suarez surpassed the 24-hour mark without a goal or assist in the Champions League knockout rounds, and the club has now failed to win an away knockout tie in two years, a statistic that makes grim reading in comparison to their rivals and current title holders Real Madrid, who can claim their away record in Europe has contributed greatly to their recent dominance of the competition.
The match also exposed an increasingly concerning issue for Barcelona fans: Their dependency on Lionel Messi. Over the last decade, Messi has either created or scored 46 percent of his team’s league goals. In the last two seasons, that figure has exceeded 50 percent in both the league and the Champions League. In isolation, those numbers don’t mean much — after all, it’s hard not to let a player that good carry your team — but when one watches the Argentine in big Champions League fixtures such as this, it becomes clear this issue is no longer a testament to how good Messi is, but a growing issue that could once again hinder the Blaugrana‘s European hopes.
Messi had twice as many touches as both Suarez and Ousmane Dembele. Until the 75th minute, when the Lyon press began to tire and he was afforded more space, Suarez was barely pushing 30 touches of the ball and finished the game with the least touches of the ball of any outfield player. Even when the Uruguayan did get touches, he was largely ineffective.
In fairness, Dembele showed plenty of promise and bravery and was a persistent handful for his marker throughout his time on the pitch. The only blotches on Dembele’s performance was that his youth and inexperience showed, and that he was inexplicably replaced for an out of form Philippe Coutinho just as Lyon were beginning to wear. In summary, out of four world-class forwards only Messi provided the right blend of quality and experience which, given that seven of the starting XI on Tuesday night played in the final when Barcelona last won the Champions League, isn’t really acceptable.
It’s at this point one has to give credit to Lyon’s defense. The French team marshaled Messi superbly, hence why they were able to hang on to their clean sheet. They made Jordi Alba’s cut backs, which have proven a near unstoppable weapon in La Liga during Ernesto Valverde’s reign, look weak and predictable and for a period just after the start of the second half, looked the most likely to open the scoring.
This result couldn’t have come at a worst time for Valverde; performances in the league have dropped in recent weeks and many of the questions and criticisms surrounding his contract renewal were focused on his failings in Europe last season. He must take some responsibility for his side’s offensive troubles in European knockout matches away from home.
Barcelona will likely get the job done at the Camp Nou and progress to the quarterfinals, but this match has shown that little has really changed at Barcelona since last season, despite the money they spent in the summer. With the Catalans competing on all fronts this season, it’s once again a case of whether Valverde will rest Messi properly so that he remains fresh for Europe or allow the Argentine to continue to carry Barca’s offense until the end of the season. It seems that one way or another, Barcelona will pay for dependency on their magical number 10.