Last week’s El Clasico clearly reflected Barcelona’s chink in the armour. The Catalans, despite bringing in six new faces in the summer – Denis Suarez, Lucas Digne, Samuel Umtiti, Andre Gomes, Jasper Cillessen and Paco Alcacer- out of which were two midfielders, still look to be in dire need of quality in their squad.
Real Madrid were obviously the better team on Saturday with the Los Blancos raining attacks throughout most of the first and second half. The only positive sign for Barcelona was their defence, who unlike their recent matches, put up a solid display against their fierce rivals. The major concern, however, was their midfield who failed to create any real spark. Messi was seen often falling deep in the midfield to win the ball and create chances for Suarez and Neymar.
Despite bringing in players like Denis Suarez and Andre Gomes to add to their already quality midfield of Arda Turan, Ivan Rakitic, Andres Iniesta and Rafinha, Barcelona have failed to provide creativity for its world-class strikers.
Iniesta’s 30-minute cameo on Saturday made it clear how important a player he is for the squad. The Catalans looked lively in that half-an-hour and could have killed the match if not for Neymar’s retching miss from 3-yards out.
However, Iniesta is already 32 and is nearing his retirement and Ivan Rakitic is lacking the touch he was applauded for last season. Rafinha looks the only bright spark in that position and Barcelona should look at options to improve their midfield.
T4O looks at 3 players the Catalans should consider buying coming January.
Julian Weigl
The Catalans have been linked with this 21-year-old for some time now. The Borussia Dortmund central midfielder has shown immense maturity for his age and Barcelona need exactly his qualities to regain their flair.
His passing accuracy is near perfect and at 186 cm, he could also dangerous in the air from the midfield. He possesses a very strong focus on the game and can take brilliant long shots if given space. He could be a brilliant addition to the Catalans.
