No ideas, no spirit, no Hay Liga for Barcelona

There are ready-made excuses for Barcelona in this anti-climax of a game at Sam Mames.

It was harrowing to see Frenkie de Jong and Pedri go down with injuries, but from the beginning, it didn’t look like the Blaugrana had any intention of seizing the opportunity in front of them.

Real Madrid have now dropped six points in five games. They have been good, but really not that great all this season. Just a little bit of pressure at any point in the campaign could have tested their championship resolve.

But Barcelona continues to be devoid of life and confidence.

Photo by David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images

Get fired up. There’s something to play for. Everyone on this Barcelona team is a world class professional. And frankly, with the exception of Pau Cubarsí, Xavi had a very mature lineup at his disposal.

Before any of the injuries occurred, Xavi made the consequential decision of dropping Joao Felix, who had a very solid game against Getafe, and going with Pedri in a midfield four instead.

Andreas Christensen seems to be his defensive midfielder of the future. With the exception of the Granada fracas, Barcelona has been much more defensively solid with the center back playing in front of the backline.

Photo by David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images

But on the ball, Barcelona once again looked lost for ideas.

And of course it got worse after Frenkie and Pedri went down. By the time Fermin Lopez found himself in the role, after playing on the wing after initially replacing Frenkie de Jong, the team couldn’t build forward with the ball to save their life.

In a week with speculation about a u-turn on Xavi’s decision to leave the club, we now have more evidence that there really is not much left the manager can give.

Tactically, they look lost.

The in-game management was a head scratcher again. On a side note, has Vitor Roque fallen off the wagon again?

But most importantly, this is a team that has stopped fighting.

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When Real Madrid is leading the table and drops points at this stage in the season, a Barcelona manager makes sure his team understands the significance of the occasion.

When you’re going up against a team that just knocked you out of the Copa del Rey, you take advantage of the moment to get revenge and prove your worth.

With the Napoli second leg just a week away, this is your chance to get warmed up, and back in form, so you can be prepared to succeed on the biggest stage of them all.

Instead, Barcelona continues to stagnate. No signs of improvement in sight.

And now the challenge is indeed bigger with their two best midfielders going down in the same game.

Photo by David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images

This Barcelona team doesn’t need any excuses to throw in the towel. Believe me, they’ll take it.

They need a fire to be lit under them.

But for now this is what they have. This is what they are.

Limping to the finish line of the season.

What place they come in doesn’t seem to matter.

And that’s not acceptable at Barcelona. Change really is needed, and it can’t come soon enough.