The new year brings a new schedule to the dressing room in Catalonia. If the calendar in recent months was not gruelling enough, January brings two new competitions to the fore – Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup.
Barcelona begin their new season tomorrow night against Las Palmas away from home before travelling to take on Union Deportiva Barbastro away from home in the Spanish Cup. They must then board the flight to Saudi Arabia to take part in the Spanish Super Cup which kicks off the 11th of January.
Tomorrow’s clash, thus, will serve to set the team’s rhythm ahead of two knockout clashes and is important given the team’s recent run of form.
Barça Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Las Palmas vs Barcelona.
Welcome 2024
2023 was a special year for Barcelona in many ways. The Catalans began the year with a special win over Real Madrid in the final of the Spanish Super Cup to taste silverware before going on to lift the league title months later.
They not only broke records with their defensive numbers but put to rest talks of the team’s perils in transition. However, their new season has not been quite up to the mark.
The defending champions started off on the right foot but have not been able to maintain their consistency in terms of results. Their end to 2023, in many ways, was shambolic.
Xavi’s side managed to win just one of their last four games across all official competitions ahead of the Christmas break. Their month began well with wins over Porto and Atletico Madrid, but consecutive defeats to Girona and Royal Antwerp followed by a draw to Mestalla saw them hit rock bottom.
If one counts the defeat to Club America in the friendly fixture before Christmas, Barcelona have just one win in their last five games.
Tomorrow’s clash, thus, becomes vital for the Azulgranas as they embark on a new journey in a new year. The group had over a week to rejuvenate after the defeat in America, and one will hope they have cleared their mental headspace and regrouped in the process.
All eyes on Roque
The beginning of the new year signifies the start of the winter transfer market in the world of football. Yet, Barcelona will not have much of their attention diverted towards the market given their financial situation.
Xavi is well aware that he will not have many new signings in January given the club’s financial situation. Vitor Roque, on that front, might well be his only new addition.
The Brazilian phenom arrived in Catalonia earlier this week and has begun training under the command of his new manager. There was some tangible doubt about his participation in Barcelona’s first league game of the year, but reports have claimed that he has been registered now.
Needless to say, Barcelona and the team’s faithful are hoping the Brazilian can make an instant impact on the team’s form in the final third and provide Robert Lewandowski with serious competition in the coming weeks.
The defence needs to fix up
The fall-off in the quality of Barcelona’s defence this season has been nothing short of atrocious. As the holder of one of La Liga’s best-ever defensive numbers as of just last season, it was taken for granted that the Catalans’ defensive resilience would hold up once again in 2023-24.
Yet, that has been far from the case. Halfway through the season, Xavi’s men have already conceded 21 goals, more than they did in the entire La Liga season last time around.
Joao Cancelo’s arrival has indeed changed the balance of the defence, for the Portuguese star’s tendency to push forward often leaves holes in the defence. Yet, one cannot deny that the defenders, in general, have been a shadow of their former selves.
Ronald Araujo, Barcelona’s leader at the back and solid cog in defence, has been far from his best all season and has regularly found himself out of position on the break. Jules Kounde has been tangibly worse, single-handedly giving away chances in recent games with reckless passes.
The same can be said about Andreas Christensen who, while better, has still not been up to the mark. Alejandro Balde’s relatively off-season tops off the long list of defensive deficits at Barcelona.
The back-line is critical to the success of any champion team, and it must thus be Xavi’s primary focus to fix the holes at the back. That change must start tomorrow, for any delay could incur a costly price.
