Can Barcelona contend in Europe with Ernesto Valverde?
A masterclass from Lionel Messi at the Camp Nou gave Barcelona a huge 3-1 win against Borussia Dortmund to seal top spot in Group F and take the pressure off under-fire manager Ernesto Valverde —for now.
In a critical Champions League clash between two under-fire managers, Barcelona’s Ernesto Valverde and Dortmund’s Lucien Favre, the Catalans came away with the win to top the Group of Death.
It should be all smiles in Barcelona today after Lionel Messi’s stunning performance, but yesterday’s win felt more like the world’s best player papering over the cracks of major systematic issues. While the once free-flowing Barcelona remain at the summit of La Liga and top of Champions League Group F, the results simply do not match the performances.
For much of the season, this side has looked dreadful, begging for Messi to bail them out of a sticky situation nearly every week. Barcelona have major issues in the spine of the team, defense and central midfield, and an Antoine Griezmann conundrum in attack.
More from FC Barcelona
- Alexia Putellas reaches 400 games with Barcelona
- Barcelona put five past Real Betis
- Xavi backs struggling Robert Lewandowski
- Gavi youngest Barcelona player to reach 100 games
- Barcelona struggle but pull out win against Osasuna
Although the French forward scored a fantastic goal on a brilliant pass from Messi, he has looked so out of place on the left flank that it begs the question of whether the former Atlético Madrid talisman was even an upgrade on the much-maligned Phillippe Coutinho.
Valverde’s side has crumbled in each of the last two European campaigns with three-goal first-leg victories, and this season, it is hard to even place Barcelona among the favorites to win club football’s biggest prize. This is a far cry from the feared Barcelona teams of the past, and although Valverde has shown numerous signs that he does not have what it takes to turn it around or to win the Champions League, the club has yet to seek an alternative.
The Blaugrana‘s victory on Wednesday is a great result, but in reality, it simply kicks the can further down the line. This team has not turned a corner, but rather, taken advantage of Messi’s brilliance to defeat a Dortmund side in horrendous form, who will now likely move on from Favre.
This team, despite its immense talent, is trending worryingly toward becoming club football’s Argentina: major structural issues, a shaky defense, and over-reliant on Messi’s greatness. In the big matches in the knockout stages, Valverde will be out-managed by the likes of Pep Guardiola and Jürgen Klopp, and as currently constructed, this team appears to be nowhere near its potential.
Barcelona are inherently considered favorites to lift the Champions League on an annual basis but given the current situation of the club and the dire state of its football, its extremely difficult to put them anywhere near the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool, Juventus, or PSG.
Valverde is a solid coach for a mid-to-upper table La Liga side, but he has consistently shown since taking over from Luis Enrique that he does not have the stomach to compete on the continent’s biggest stage.
His pragmatism and defensive stability, which were his biggest strengths during his tenure with Athletic Bilbao, have failed to translate to Barcelona and do not fit the club’s DNA of possession-based free-flowing football.
It is unfortunate, as Barcelona appear to be wasting the final peak years of perhaps the greatest player of all time in Messi, but what has transpired in Europe over recent seasons has not been the Argentinian’s fault.
Next. Making sense of Luis Enrique's return to Spain. dark
Despite the successes in the group stage, this team just seems to be destined for another knockout stage disappointment. For the first time in years, with Valverde at the helm, Barcelona may have the résumé to claim to be Champions League contenders, but they simply do not look the part.