Barça resultist

Necessity has turned Barcelona into a result-oriented team in the League after being eliminated from the Champions League for the second time in a row.

“Without playing completely well you can also win;

that is football”, argued Xavi after the 0-1 against Atlético de Madrid.

Barça's long-suffering victory at the Metropolitano referred to those achieved against Osasuna (1-2) and Valencia (0-1) —one could also add the one achieved earlier in Mallorca (0-1)— after the disconcerting end-of-year derby ( 1-1).

"We were very good with Espanyol and we lost two points," said the Barça coach.

The footballers know that their party calendar is conditioned by the score and the squad was summoned to train for the New Year after the previous day's draw against Diego Martínez's blue and white team.

The negligence that the public at the Camp Nou noticed then contrasted with the desire contrasted in the trips to Madrid, Pamplona and Valencia.

The focus was on Sunday on Barça's response after Madrid's defeat at Villarreal and the Catalans won at the Metropolitan and reinforced both their self-esteem and their leadership in the League.

The numbers support Barcelona: they have 41 points out of 48, three more than Real Madrid;

They have only lost one game out of 16, precisely the one played at the Bernabéu 3-1;

in 12 of the 16 games he has left a clean sheet;

it is the least beaten team in the major leagues with six goals;

and he is the second highest scorer behind Madrid: 35 to 36. The statistics express a defensive solvency in the League that does not correspond to that of the Cup - he conceded three goals against Intercity - nor with the six days of the Champions League: 12.

The comparison therefore forces us not to draw conclusions about Barca's reliability and even more so if one takes into account the chances granted in the different matches, three clear ones against Atlético, the last one resolved on the goal line by Araujo.

The recovery of the Uruguayan central defender, who missed the World Cup due to injury, is considered decisive in establishing a defense that also has notable participation from Christensen and Koundé.

The weak point continues on the sides, especially on the right, an area discovered since the departure of Dani Alves.

Equally notable have been so far the saves by Ter Stegen, who has recovered his best version, and the 12 goals scored by top scorer Lewandowski.

The center forward has been as regular as most of his companions have been sterile if one takes into account that the second scorer with five goals is Dembélé.

Ferran Torres seems crazy (2 goals), Raphinha misses the goal (2), Memphis hardly intervenes (1) and it is still not clear what to expect from Ansu Fati (3), starter against Atlético due to Lewandowski's suspension.

De Jong's role

There are doubts about some footballers and there is also discussion about the organization of the game because the role of a player like Frenkie de Jong is not clear.

The Dutchman does not stop coming in and out of the team, going around the field, without knowing if he is a midfielder or can replace Busquets as a center midfielder.

The future of the captain whose contract ends on June 30 has not been resolved either.

Xavi, in any case, likes Busquets.

The lack of definition does not help a team that, on the contrary, has found two solvent interiors like Pedri and Gavi.

The game is processed from Pedri, unbalancing in the goal of the Metropolitan, while competitiveness is guaranteed with Gavi.

Given the discussion of whether the team lacks a goal or football, or if it puts the result before the game when in the Camp Nou it has always been presumed that victory can only be achieved by treating the ball well, the response from the dressing room is unanimous. : "It's about being competitive in every game" to ensure points and lay the foundations of the game that Xavi wants.

Barça acts under the pressure of knowing that the team supports the club and therefore attention is concentrated on the field: the fans have returned to the Camp Nou —the average attendance is close to 80,000 spectators.

La Liga is not only the objective but also a priority after a blank season – the last title was the 2018-2019 season.

There is no transition worth remembering the last interventions by the coach and President Laporta.

"You have to face each game as if it were a final", they agree in the Joan Gamper sports city.

The challenge requires playing with the humility of a small team and resolving each appointment as the greats usually do, Barça insist.

The team's football, however, is discontinuous, at times good and bad at certain times, both in the League and in the Cup. The Catalans have not completed a good game due to their irregularity, lack of solidity and packaging, excessively exposed and erratic when the rival attacks them, as was verified against Atlético.

The margin for error is minimal and, furthermore, the coach is aware that the margin for improvement depends on the players he already has, since the

limit prevents him from signing in the winter transfer window and also in the summer transfer window after investing 200 million during 2022 and selling assets for 700 million with Laporta's levers.

You have to balance the accounts in the offices and on the field and, for now, the numbers are good in the League.

Not winning means ruin at the Camp Nou.

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