How Barcelona are facing a defensive crises (Part 2)
Even though Barcelona have great players in all the positions, it is safe to say that the replacements are not the best when it comes down to defending. Josep Guardiola has many options up front and even in the midfield but when it comes down to the defensive
lines, the Catalan coach usually runs out of options. With Eric Abidal playing in the centre back position to replace the injured http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Carles-Puyol-c8331, only Javier Mascherano can replace Gerard Pique.
In case Josep Guardiola has to play someone besides Gerard Pique, it is either the holding midfielder Sergio Busquets or the Argentinean midfielder http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Job-c18684 down for their side, Busquets has shown that he is
basically a liability while playing in the centre back position.
Sergio Busquets, on the other hand, cannot perform as a centre back during big matches. The Spanish holding midfielder gave http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Arsenal-c38429 a chance to qualify for the next round during the Champions League tie against the North London club. The Spaniard headed
the ball into his own net while performing his role as a centre back.
The first team defenders are Carles Puyol, Gerard Pique, Eric Abidal and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Daniel-c9879 Alves. However, the Catalan Giants are now suffering from a lot of injury issues. The first team centre back Carles Puyol has finally made a comeback from his knee injury; however,
Gerard Pique is still out injured and won’t be able to perform against AC Milan.
The French fullback, Eric Abidal is still not fully fit to play in a competitive game and that is also the reason why he has delayed his contract talks with the Catalan club.
With Carles Puyol out of the Barcelona back four, the Spanish Champions suffered a lot last season. It was Eric Abidal who filled in the space for the club’s captain. However, now Eric Abidal is injured as well and Javier Mascherano has to partner up with
the Spanish holding midfielder http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Sergio-Busquets-c33048; and these two are not the best of defensive partners for Barcelona.
The defensive combination between Eric Abidal and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Inter-c39567 Milan man usually
gave the ball away in crucial positions and was not as big a threat as Abidal was on the left flank.
When Josep Guardiola saw Maxwell’s horrific performance against Arsenal during the first leg of the UEFA Champions League, the Catalan coach decided to change him with http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Adriano-c3773 – the former Sevilla midfielder. Adriano now looks to be better than Maxwell in
terms of attack; however, defensively he often gets caught and needs help from the holding midfielder to outnumber his man down.
Now with Eric Abidal out of picture, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Barcelona-c38604 rely too much on Javier Mascherano. Moreover, the young Spaniard Andreu Fontas looks to be a good option but playing him in bigger games like the El Classico is a huge risk.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and do not reflect the editorial policy of www.bettor.com
Tags: