MADRID : Barcelona needs to brace for some tough times ahead while adjusting to the post-Lionel Messi era.
That message was clear after the 3-0 loss at home to Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Tuesday, the team’s first defeat since Messi left amid the club’s financial struggles.
“It is what it is, we are what we are now,” veteran Barcelona captain Gerard Piqué said after the Catalan club was outplayed from the start at the Camp Nou. “It’s a complicated season.”
Looking nothing like the team that used to thrive when Messi was on the field, Barcelona couldn’t get a single shot on goal the entire match and saw Bayern constantly threaten the other way.
“We would like to have competed better, but this is what we have right now,” Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman said. “I can’t complain about our attitude, we tried our best. But there is a difference in talent and a difference between a team that has played a long time together and our team with lots of young players. It is difficult to accept, but we have to keep working.”
The loss came more than a year after the embarrassing 8-2 debacle against Bayern in the quarterfinals of the Champions League two seasons ago, a defeat that began exposing Barcelona’s struggles on and off the field.
“Poor Barça,” read a front-page headline from sports daily Marca on Wednesday.
“The sad reality,” said the daily Sport.
Koeman, who was hired shortly after the rout against Bayern, said it will take time for Barcelona to return to a top level.
“Our young players have a lot of potential, in two or three years they will be playing much better,” Koeman said. “But right now, it is what it is.”
Koeman also lost Antoine Griezmann in the transfer window last month, when the team’s main addition was Netherlands forward Memphis Depay. The club added veteran Sergio Aguero but he is among the several players recovering from injury, along with youngsters Ousmane Dembélé, Sergiño Dest and Ansu Fati. Koeman used 18-year-old Yusuf Demir and 17-year-old Gavi on Tuesday. Pedri González, also 18, was a starter.
“I look at the positive fact that we had some 18-year-old players coming into the match,” Piqué said. “It’s our reality now.”
Barcelona will have to rely a lot on its youngsters as it tries to recover from dire financial conditions caused by the pandemic and poor management. The Catalan club wasn’t able to hand Messi a new contract and saw him leave for free to Paris Saint-Germain, one of the main contenders for the Champions League title this season.
President Joan Laporta asked fans to keep supporting Barcelona and said he needs time to get the club back on track.
“I am upset and disappointed as all of you are,” he said in a video message. “I need to tell you that what is happening is one of the situations that we expected. And I ask for your patience, and that you continue supporting our team. I also ask for your trust in us, the people who are managing the club. We need your trust and time, and do not doubt that we will solve this situation.”
There were signs Barcelona fans weren’t too optimistic when they failed to buy all tickets available for Tuesday’s match, something that rarely happened when Messi was still around, especially in a big Champions League match.
Piqué said it was “hurtful” to hear jeers from the Camp Nou crowd for Sergi Roberto, who was singled out for his poor performance while playing improvised on the right flank.
To make things worse, Pedri and Jordi Alba sustained muscle injuries during the match and are expected to be sidelined for a while.
Piqué said the next few weeks will be key for Barcelona, a five-time champion in Europe’s top competition.
“We need to win our next matches in the Champions League and stay among the leaders in the Spanish league,” Piqué said. “Right now we are not considered favorites but we will see what happens at the end of the season. Chelsea also wasn’t the favorite to win the Champions League last season.”
Barcelona’s next match in Group E will be at Benfica later this month. Benfica opened with a 1-1 draw at Dynamo Kyiv on Tuesday.
Grim future: Loss to Bayern exposes Barcelona’s new reality
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Grim future: Loss to Bayern exposes Barcelona’s new reality
- Barcelona couldn’t get a single shot on goal the entire match and saw Bayern constantly threaten the other way
- “Poor Barça,” read a front-page headline from sports daily Marca on Wednesday and “The sad reality,” said the daily Sport
Al-Ahli survive first-half scare to cruise to victory and tie Al-Hilal at the top of Saudi Pro League
- Al-Ahli draw level with league leaders Al-Hilal on 53 points after trailing 1-0 down at half-time
- Al-Ettifaq and Al-Fateh play out seven-goal thriller in Dammam
DAMMAM: Matchday 23 kicked began with what ultimately became a comfortable victory for Al-Ahli over relegation-battling Al-Najma at home. However, the hosts endured a tough first 45 minutes, falling 1-0 behind and missing a penalty before scoring four in the second half against the 10-man visitors.
Al-Najma — fresh off their first victory in Saudi Pro League history when they beat Al-Kholood last week — arrived in Jeddah with confidence. Despite facing an in-form Al-Ahli, they controlled the tempo early on, forcing the hosts play on the back foot for much of the opening half hour.
The architect of Al-Najma’s bright start was Néstor El Maestro, returning to the Saudi Pro League for the first time in five years. After guiding the club to their first win in 21 matches, a result in Al-Ahli’s backyard would have provided the perfect reignite their survival bid.
El Maestro once said, “Life is too short to spend defending in a low block”, during his time at relegation-battling Göztepe in the Turkish Süper Lig in 2022. That philosophy defined Al-Najma’s bold approach against the reigning Asian Champions League Elite and Saudi Super Cup holders.
Initially, the strategy paid off. Davd Tijanić beat two Al-Ahli defenders with a deft move on the left flank in the 27th minute before releasing Lázaro, who finished past Édouard Mendy to hand the visitors a surprise lead.
Al-Ahli immediately pushed for an equaliser. Ivan Toney was brought down in the box in the 29th minute, only for the referee to wave away penalty appeals. Moments later, a handball inside Al-Najma’s area led to a lengthy VAR review and eventually a spot-kick for the hosts.
Toney, seeking his 21st goal of the campaign and boasting a perfect record from the spot for Al-Ahli, saw his penalty saved by Victor Braga. He pounced on the rebound, but Braga recovered to claim the ball and preserve the lead.
Braga continued to frustrate the hosts with several key saves before clashing into an opponent on the verge of half-time. The referee initially awarded a second penalty to Al-Ahli, but after a VAR review overturned the decision, Al-Najma went into the break still in front.
Al-Ahli knew a victory was essential on a pivotal weekend, with city rivals Al-Ittihad facing Al-Hilal in a clash that could influence the title race. Their response after the interval was swift, with Riyad Mahrez delivering a dipping cross that was met by Valentin Atangana, who headed in the equaliser.
Atangana was fouled ten minutes later, when Felippe Cardoso pushed him in the face. The Brazilian striker, already booked, received his marching orders from the referee.
With a numerical advantage, Al-Ahli asserted control. Roger Ibañez picked out Mahrez with a measured long pass over the top. The Algerian cushioned a first-time lay-off into Toney’s path, and the English striker finished clinically in the 69th minute.
Toney added his second of the evening — and 22nd of the season — in the 87th minute, meeting Matheus Gonçalves’ cross at the far post with a first-time finish. The Englishman completed his hat-trick in the fourth minute of stoppage time after Al-Najma conceded their second penalty of the night.
The win moves Al-Ahli level on points with Al-Hilal on 53 points, awaiting their game later this week. Meanwhile, El Maestro’s task with Al-Najma grows more difficult, as Al-Riyadh’s 2-0 victory over Al-Kholood in Qassim leaves Al-Najma eight points adrift of safety.
Elsewhere, Al-Ettifaq and Al-Fateh produced one of the season’s most entertaining encounters in an Eastern Province derby. Al-Ettifaq raced into a 3-0 lead inside 36 minutes, with goals from Khalid Al-Ghannam and Georginio Wijnaldum putting them firmly in control.
North African duo Mourad Batna and Sofiane Bendebka dragged Al-Fateh back into the contest with goals on either side of stoppage time in the first half. Madallah Al-Olayan restored Al-Ettifaq’s cushion in 48th minute, but Batna struck again in the 71st minute to set up a tense finale.
After seven goals in a back-and-forth thriller, Al-Ettifaq held on for a 4-3 victory in Dammam.
Saudi Pro League action resumes on Friday, with Al-Okhdood hosting Al-Qadsiah, Al-Taawoun welcoming Al-Fayha and Al-Shabab travelling to Khamis Mushait to face Damac. All games kick off at 10:00pm in the league’s unified Ramadan schedule.
