This article is a continuation of ‘Abidal, Villa and what went wrong with Barca last season – Part 1’.
Interestingly, the Catalans were able to make due in the absence of their primary forward. Newly signed http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Alexis-Sánchez-c4979 offered Pep Guardiola with a variety of options and the Catalan tactician was not afraid to experiment.
However, things were not as simple as they seemed. It wasn’t long before the former Udinese player faced fitness issues of his own and the beginning of his life as a Barca player was not what he hoped for.
It took Sanchez some time to fit in the Blaugrana squad, as he was sidelined for the initial part of the new season. The player’s contribution towards the team’s cause was minimal at the start; however, he did grow to become an important member of the side.
On the other hand, Cesc Fabregas’ return to the club where he began his career as a youth player was everything the midfielder would have hoped for. The Spaniard’s elation was quite noticeable as he appeared more than pleased with the transfer that saw him
leave English Premier League side, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Arsenal-c38429, and in order to join La Azulgrana.
Fabregas, being another graduate of the famous ‘La Masia’, had little difficulty in settling down at the Catalan capital. In addition to this, the player was also involved in regular action sooner than expected. Guardiola attempted to try the newly acquired
Barca number 4 up front as a forward.
In what appeared to be an improvised version of the ‘false nine’, Cesc was played as a striker. Fascinatingly, the former Arsenal captain did not disappoint at his new position as he was quick to get off the mark.
Hence, the Copa del Rey champions were able to deal with the non-availability of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/David-Villa-c10629.
There are some who believe that the former http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Valencia-c40863 forward’s absence was not covered, however, others argue that his replacement proved quite instrumental for the Catalan giants.
Moving on, as the season’s campaign progressed, things seemed on course for the footballing juggernauts. However, they were soon rocked with the news of Eric Abidal having to undergo a liver transplant.
The veteran full-back, who always proved to be more than useful for his team, was sidelined for an extended period of time as the club’s physicians decided to put him under the knife.
The French international suffered due to the same problems in the last season as well, and a transplant meant that his competitive career as a footballer could come to an end.
Captivatingly, the Catalans hardly seemed to miss their beloved defender and were soon able to replace his presence with http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Javier-Mascherano-c18071. The Argentine international proved quite useful and made sure that his spot in the starting eleven was cemented, but
finding the alternative for Abidal was not the end of Barca’s defensive woes.
La Azulgrana’s problems in defence grew as http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Gerard-c14664 Pique found himself in poor form and underperformed as a result.
Pique’s inability to be dependable was quite a dent in the defending prowess of the Catalans. In addition to this, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Carles-Puyol-c8331 suffered from a knee problem as the season approached its climax.
With their captain unable to play, the FIFA Club World Cup champions suffered a great deal in defence as a number of important fixtures were played in his absence.
Although many experts offer different views regarding the matter, Barcelona’s aggravated weakness in defence was probably the primary reason of their failure to achieve glory in the Spanish La Liga and the UEFA Champions League.
Disclaimer: Views and opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect bettor.com’s editorial policy.
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