@soccernews sets about analysing one of the greatest comebacks in Champions League history, eclipsing Barcelona’s amazing comeback against PSG last season. Barcelona visited Roma with a 4-1 advantage but left with a Champions League exit. Just how does a team in fourth place of Serie A beat a team 11 points clear at the top of the La Liga charts?
Lack of a Backup Plan
Despite his achievements domestically, bringing Barcelona to the brink of a domestic double. Valverde will be much criticised for his decisions in this match. When things were going south, Valverde showed his lack of a plan B when Roma was allowed to continue dictating the game. As quoted from Mundo Deportivo, ‘Bad plan A and no plan B’. An away goal was all that was needed to kill the tie, but throughout the game, Barcelona never looked close to scoring it.
Focusing too much on defence and pragmatism, Valverde started Sergi Roberto and waited until the 85th minute to introduce Dembélé and Paulinho, allowing De Rossi, Radja Nainggolan and Kevin Strootman to dominate the midfield. Playing a 4-4-2 formation on the pitch showed Valverde’s contentment with containing, and it didn’t work out. Longs balls over the top unlocked Barcelona’s midfield as evident from the opening goal from Dzeko after a long pass from Alessandro Florenzi. The second goal was also a result of a long ball from midfield to Edin Dzeko who drew a penalty from Gerard Pique.
Ernesto’s lack of a backup plan caused Barcelona severely.
Ousmane Dembele left to warm the bench
Why was Dembele left out of the starting lineup? Dembele’s absence at the start of the match seemed strange for many, and everyone was right to think so. Signed at the cost of 136million pounds to replace Neymar in the big games, Ousmane Dembele was a player with Champions League experience.
He would have provided the pace, width and penetration to unlock Roma’s defence and ensure that they are on their back foot. Instead, he was brought on with five minutes remaining and nearly came close when a defensive mix-up presented Dembélé with an opportunity to rescue La Liga’s champions-elect where his chip drifted over Alisson Becker’s unguarded goal. However, time was too short for him, and the ship for Barcelona had already sailed.
Lack of Rotation
One overlooked, but a hugely impactful mistake was one that was accumulated throughout the season. Dario AS had published the minutes played on the pitch by Barcelona players so far this season, and eight players had chalked up more for club and country than anyone from Real Madrid.
Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro had played the most for his team at 3,533 minutes. The eight players from Barcelona all played more minutes with Luiz Suarez, Ivan Rakitic and Lionel Messi playing over 4,000 minutes.
“Rotations are not permitted at this stage of the season”, words that have come to haunt Valverde. The lack of rotation with fringe players has tired the core team, and this Champions League exit is the price to be paid for that. However, less blame should be shouldered by Valverde as his decision for lesser rotation can be explained by the next reason.
Lacklustre Transfers
Why was there no rotation? Dembele aside, Barcelona have spent over 87million pounds on Andre Gomes, Paco Alcacer, Aleix Vidal and Lucas Digne. These players have not contributed enough over the course of the season and have failed to impress much.
What Does This All Mean?
Despite this significant setback, there are still two trophies to be won. Barcelona could win La Liga with a draw in the upcoming El Clasico and by then would have also won the Copa Del Rey. Winning the domestic double and El Clasico will surely wash away the bad memories of the Tuesday night, in addition to the potential arrival of Antoine Griezmann.
All is not lost for Ernesto Valverde as well. One must not forget that he has led Barcelona to an emphatic rise to the top of the table and with the title within grasp, will he probably lead Barcelona to win the double. Therefore, we should not judge him too harshly but he needs to grow into his managerial position fast, or questions will be asked about his suitability for the job next season.
What do you think about Ernesto Valverde? Is he the right man for the job? Leave a comment down below.
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https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/apr/10/roma-barcelona-champions-league-quarter-final-match-report
http://www.squawka.com/news/five-things-as-roma-shock-barcelona-3-0/1028032#DVZvMQJ5bBfuL56Z.97
It's good that football is not mathematical science. That's the only good left in this beloved sport. Sometimes heart is all you need to beat all the odds against.
Yes Roma really showed bravery and determination to beat the odds. Reminds me of Leicester City when they won the league.
Really nice article, you analyzed the game very well. You are absolutely right, indeed newspaper AS wrote that Barcelona collapsed because there was no rotation at all, Messi has played 1205 more minutes than Ronaldo with Real. I don't know why Valverde is obsessed with the same players, I mean this is like suggesting that he doesn't have a bench there. For God's sake this is Barcelona if they don't have great reserve players who has.
Barcelona should definitely look to bring in new and young talent next season if they wish to win the Champions League.
I agree with you! They should already be searching for young players and talented ones, this is the right way to build a team, young players need time too.
I know of Valverde's work through his tenure at Olympiakos and I have to say I thought Barcelona missed an opportunity to became a true contender for the Champions League when they appointed him. I expect him to complete the domestic double but he just doesn't have the know-how to win a challenging knock-out style tournament like the Champions League.
Twice as the Olympiakos coach he dominated domestically in Europe and set high expectations for European success. Both times he made it to the knock-out stages of the Uefa Cup/Europa League and then proceeded to under-perform catastrophically in crucial moments. The first time we were down 0-2 at home to St Etienne after the first half of the first leg (final result 1-3) and then gave up in the second leg. The second time we won away 0-1 at Metalist in the first leg, were up 1-0 after 80 minutes in the second leg and yet still were knocked out after two Metalist goals in 6 minutes.
After those two times, just last year he was eliminated as Athletic Bilbao coach by Apoel Nicosia, which was heralded as a historic result for the Cypriot team.
Valverde is who he is, he will not improve and he will not win any European trophies with Barcelona!
Yes, I do agree that Valverde lacks the big game mentality for encounters such as the Champions League and as you mentioned the Europa League during his time at Olympiakos. Still, if he brings in a domestic double for Barcelona, it will still be a massive achievement for him.
It will be a massive achievement, but for how much longer will Barcelona be satisfied with just domestic honours? Also, Iniesta, Messi, Suarez have only so many more years left at the top of their game so Valverde's era might be seen as a missed opportunity in retrospect.
It definitely seems like Barcelona has no fresh talent as of now that could take over the mantle of the old guard. The next transfer window should see an influx of new blood if Barcelona hope to win the Champions League. Valverde might then have another chance to prove himself.
I read today that media was reporting a confrontation between Messi, Pique and Valverde. We'll see if he lasts more than one season...
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