La Liga: Barcelona vs Espanyol! Three serious issues plague the team! Is Barcelona’s rebound just an illusion?

Today’s first topic is La Liga: Barcelona vs Espanyol!

Barcelona has let you down countless times; will you still treat them like your first love?

After Messi left, Barcelona has only reached fans’ hopes twice in the last 15 games, and as Van Dazhongjun says, they “have no shame left!”

Now with Koeman gone and Xavi taking over, many Barcelona fans believe “the dawn is finally coming.” But will it really brighten up?

I have no doubt about Xavi’s ability; top-class playmakers often make excellent coaches.

He won 7 titles in two years coaching Al Sadd, setting the club’s best-ever record; before that, Al Sadd had only 11 titles in 50 years.

However, three problems might delay Barcelona’s bright future.

The first problem is Barcelona’s defensive habits.

Everyone knows Barcelona’s defense is weak, but why is it so poor? After all, the defenders are talented players.

The main issue is their poor defensive habits.

They tend to aggressively swarm smaller numbers locally, which looks active but actually shows shortsightedness and lack of overall awareness.

For example, in the last match where Barcelona was caught up by Celta with three goals to draw, how did Celta score the first one?

Seven Barcelona players crowded two opponents!

This is a serious waste; having too many players in one area leaves other zones empty. See? The right wing was like an open field, allowing opponents easy access to the box.

There’s a saying “old habits die hard.” Such deeply ingrained habits are tough for Xavi to fix quickly, no matter how capable he is.

Second, Barcelona’s injury problems.

Why did Xavi call up seven young players from the B team for training? Because there’s simply no one else available.

Players like Agüero, Dembélé, Fati, Pedri, Dest... the injury list is long and daunting!

Xavi said at yesterday’s press conference that tomorrow’s starting lineup might surprise everyone.

Putting defense aside, let’s talk attack. Xavi’s tactic requires two wingers, but Barcelona’s first team hardly has any proper wingers left. They’ll probably have to promote one or two youngsters from the B team to play on the wings; De Vega or Abde will likely feature.

Espanyol currently concedes as few goals as Real Madrid and Atlético. Even if you’re Barcelona, can a hastily assembled attack line really handle that?

The third problem: Should Barcelona conserve energy for the crucial Champions League knockout?

Although Barcelona currently leads Benfica by two points, Barcelona’s last match is against Bayern while Benfica faces Dynamo Kyiv. So if Barcelona fails to beat Benfica, they’re basically out.

Many Barcelona players are key national team members; for example, Depay hasn’t had a single rest.

Physical endurance has limits. Should they give their all against Espanyol or against Benfica? With Barcelona’s current squad depth, they can’t afford to do both.

Although Espanyol seems weaker, their squad is complete, they focus on one competition, and their recent form and morale are quite good.

Taking everything into account, I’m more hopeful that Espanyol, led by Wu Qiu Wang (just kidding), can defend their dignity and at worst lose by only one goal!

Alright, for today’s other matches, I’ll send out written analyses in the afternoon. Feel free to ask if anything is unclear. Let’s watch and understand the games together every day!

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