If anyone was wondering why Atletico Madrid forward Julian Alvarez is Barcelona’s top transfer target for this summer, last night’s Champions League quarter-final first leg at the Camp Nou explained things.
Pau Cubarsi’s 44th-minute red card had a huge bearing on Barca’s 2-0 home defeat, and you could argue Hansi Flick’s side had been playing well up to that point — but the match also seriously underlined their goalscoring problem, which is not a new issue.
A quick look at the game’s expected goals (xG) is illustrative. Atletico scored twice with an xG of 0.43. Barca should have done better from their 1.33. The elephant in the room is the No 9 spot.
Robert Lewandowski was chosen to start after scoring the winning goal, thanks to a lucky rebound off his shoulder, against Atletico in a 2-1 La Liga away victory on Saturday — in which Nico Gonzalez was sent off for the home side.
But in truth, the 37-year-old Poland striker has looked off the pace for months. His movement off the ball has slowed, and he has struggled to keep up with the physical aspects of the game — especially the pressing Flick’s system needs from the forward line. You could argue he should have done better on that front in the build-up to Giuliano Simeone being put through on goal, which led to Cubarsi being sent off. From the free-kick, Alvarez scored a stunner.
In possession, Lewandowski’s output hasn’t been much better. Against Atletico he touched the ball 11 times and completed four passes in the first half, after which he was replaced by Fermin Lopez.
The main reason why Lewandowski has been starting in recent weeks is because his back-up, Ferran Torres, is in an even worse spell of form. The 26-year-old Spain forward has scored just once in his past 12 La Liga appearances, his last Champions League goal was in November against Club Brugge, and noise about Barca considering selling him this summer is building.
Manchester United loannee Marcus Rashford started on the left of the attack and did many things well — except for finding the net. Atletico right-back Nahuel Molina had a hard time stopping him, especially in the first half, but the England forward lacked a clinical edge. He took seven shots, four of which were on target, hitting the crossbar from a fierce free-kick that opposition goalkeeper Juan Musso just about got a hand to.
Barca have already begun talks over making Rashford’s loan move permanent (Eric Alonso/Getty Images)
A point also needs to be made about Raphinha’s absence, which has been an absolute disaster for Barca. The Brazil forward injured his hamstring again on international duty with Brazil last week and won’t be back for another month, leaving Flick without arguably the most influential player in his high-pressing system. The 29-year-old had registered eight goal involvements in his past three Barca games.
It wasn’t just Flick who missed Raphinha. Lamine Yamal did, too. Barcelona’s attacking production right now relies heavily on the 18-year-old, who last night led the team in duels (16), successful take-ons (eight), possessions won (eight), fouls won (six) and chances created (three).
Yamal is in his best form of the season, and there is a case to say he might be the best player in the world right now, but at this stage of the Champions League he can hardly do it all by himself.
“Lamine (Yamal) was disappointed after the game, but he was outstanding,“ Flick said in his post-match press conference.
“He did a fantastic job and we have to support him. He is just 18 years old. I think we need to not make too much noise around him sometimes. He will be one of the best players ever in Spain’s history, for sure, but let’s protect him.”
Despite Flick’s words, any realistic chance Barca have of a second-leg comeback at the Metropolitano on Tuesday essentially rely on Yamal having one of the games of his life — and him having a better supporting cast.
Raphinha will still be out of the picture, and there is a big chance that Flick goes with the same frontline that struggled to break Atletico down last night. There is plenty of room for improvement. The good thing is that Yamal, at this level, just seems impossible to contain for 90 minutes. He is always going to create havoc, and this is where Flick’s side will make it or break it.
In La Liga, Barca have a seven-point lead over Real Madrid with eight games to play, including a home Clasico on May 10, as they look to defend their title. But the Champions League is the ultimate dream for this team.
At Barcelona, European success is what transforms a good generation of footballers into one for the ages. It is what fans are really craving, after years of failure and disappointment in a competition they have not won since 2015.
“This tie is not over,” Flick added last night. “We will give everything in the return leg, I can say that. We will have our chances.”
He just needs his strikers not to waste them.
