Every team would like to win every match, but sometimes,
a victory can feel more like a loss.
In a highly-anticipated clash between two teams entering
the match first and second in La Liga, Barcelona defeated Sevilla 4-2.
Barcelona’s superior star power helped the Catalan club take control of the
match and earn a comfortable victory, with Philippe Coutinho, Lionel Messi,
Luis Suárez, and Ivan Rakitić making their way onto the scoresheet. This win
also put Barça back on top of the league, just one week after surrendering it
to Sevilla.
However, the result was not the main talking point of the
game.
In the 26th minute, Messi had to be substituted after
breaking his arm following a collision with Sevilla midfielder Franco Vázquez.
The injury to the Barça legend could potentially alter the course of the
season, for he is expected to be out of action for three weeks.
This
means that Messi will miss two Champions League matches against Inter Milan,
and, most crucially, the upcoming El Clásico match against Real Madrid.
Although Real are currently mired in a slump, El Clásico is exactly the sort of
match that would fire up Los Merengues and see them produce a performance at a
level we have not seen from them for a while now.
There is a term which I would like to bring up now; that
term is “Pyrrhic victory”.
According to Dictionary.com, a Pyrrhic victory is “a
victory or goal achieved at too great a cost”.
It must be kept in mind that Barça
only lead now second-placed Sevilla by one point, and Real by four. Thus, if Barça
go on to lose El Clásico – a distinct possibility considering that they will be
without their ace - their lead over Real would be cut to just one, and the
Blaugrana would probably also surrender their position as La Liga leaders.
This is not the first time that some of Barça’s victories
came back to bite them. In fact, such a scenario occurred just last season.
Throughout the season, Barcelona really went all out to
win La Liga and the Copa del Rey. However, their domestic exertions ultimately
ended up costing them in Europe when they were knocked out of the Champions
League by Roma, as the Serie A team pulled off a comeback for the ages to send
a gassed Barça out of the tournament.
Despite the fact that Barcelona went on to win a league
and cup double, the disappointing end to their Champions League campaign caused
most around the club to regard Barça’s 2017-18 season as a failure. In fact,
there was even speculation that coach Ernesto Valverde would be fired, solely
because of their loss in the Champions League.
Had Barça taken a more measured approach to the league
and domestic cup, it is certainly possible that they would have gone on to win
the Champions League. While victories build confidence within a team, when a
team goes too hard in less important matches, they risk running their players
into the ground, risking injury, or causing fatigue. This would then lead to
underperformance in the matches that matter most.
Now, with not only Messi, but also Samuel Umtiti and
Thomas Vermaelen injured, Barça’s season hangs in a precarious position. Not
only is their La Liga lead at risk, but now there is also a chance that they
might only qualify from their Champions League group as the second-placed team,
which would likely give them a round of 16 match against a title contender.
That in turn could lead to an early exit for the second consecutive year.
At the beginning of the season, Messi openly declared
that Barcelona’s primary focus this season would be to win the Champions
League. Right now, it’s still far too early for Barça to panic – after all,
they still have the La Liga lead and are still among the favourites to land the
Champions League title – but one thing is clear: if Barcelona are to bring the
European title to Camp Nou for the sixth time in the club’s history, they have
to change the way they approach La Liga and the Copa del Rey. Their current
strategy appears to be unsustainable.
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