Neymar a distraction, Ivan Rakitic's situation & Ansu Fati's arrival – talking points from Barcelona's draw at Osasuna

1/22
Ben Hayward31 August 2019

Four points from three games is not how Barcelona will have expected to start La Liga.

Saturday's 2-2 draw at Osasuna left the champions frustrated after they had worked hard to turn an early deficit into a winning position, only to concede late in the game.

Roberto Torres, who also scored the opener for the promoted side, levelled from the spot with nine minutes left after goals from substitutes Ansu Fati and Arthur Melo had seen Barca take a 2-1 lead at El Sadar.

The penalty awarded against Gerard Pique for handball was contentious and Carles Perez later missed a glorious opportunity to seal victory, but the result and the performance raised a number of concerns in what has been a slow start to the season for the Catalan club.

Getty Images

Problems away from Camp Nou

Barcelona have played twice away from home in La Liga so far this season and have picked up just one point from those two fixtures. The Catalans lost 1-0 to Athletic Club on the opening day and could only draw against Osasuna on Saturday.

As coach of Athletic, Barca boss Ernesto Valverde was often criticised for his side's poor performances on the road and fans of the Catalan club have witnessed something similar this term. In the vast open spaces at Camp Nou, with the crowd behind them, the Blaugrana almost always dominate, but that is not the case away from home and the two games this term have come against sides full of fight and intensity, willed on by the roar of their passionate fans.

Valverde had two spells at Athletic and he will no doubt identify with that type of football, but more is expected from a team like Barca – even with players like Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Ousmane Dembele unavailable. In addition, Barca have gone behind in all three of their fixtures so far this term. Their poor first-half displays have cost them and even though the two substitutions delivered on Saturday, the Catalans should be setting out to take the initiative and dominate from the outset.

Arthur could help the midfield to improve

The biggest problem, aside from the obvious absences in attack, is the midfield. Control of that sector would help Barca beat teams like Athletic and Osasuna instead of getting drawn into a physical battle which is never going to suit the Catalan club.

AFP/Getty Images

Arthur came off the bench and scored Barca's second with a lovely curler at El Sadar and the Brazilian's composed passing and possession football is surely just what Barca need in order to improve their play in the centre of the park. Instead, Sergi Roberto has started all three league games in midfield so far, perhaps because he offers more defensively.

But surely it is time to try Arthur alongside Sergio Busquets and Frenkie de Jong, with those two combining defensive qualities with their attacking abilities. It is the midfield all Barcelona fans would like to see and would help the team to create more opportunities against deep-lying defences away from home.

Ivan Rakitic's situation is strange

Meanwhile, Ivan Rakitic's situation is bizarre. The Croatian has gone from being an ever-present under Valverde to not starting any of Barcelona's first three league games in 2019-20. Even with the arrival of De Jong in the summer, it is bizarre.

Barcelona have offered Rakitic to Paris Saint-Germain in part-exchange for Neymar and the rumours are that the club are trying to convince the 31-year-old to leave by freezing him out before Monday's transfer deadline.

Valverde was asked about the situation and he did not like the question. "Do you really think that when I think about putting a player on, that I think of the (transfer) market?" he said. "I think about what is best for the team. If I think that's Rakitic, I'll put Rakitic on. If I want more control, I'll put Arthur on and if I want to break up the game, I'll put Arturo Vidal on."

AFP/Getty Images

Neymar talk is a distraction

With the transfer window to close on Monday across Europe, talk surrounding Neymar's possible return has intensified and that has not helped Barcelona's preparations for the new season, not least because a deal may include two or more players going to PSG in part exchange for the Brazilian.

Valverde admitted on Friday that he was fed up with the saga. Asked how tired of it he was, on a scale of one to 10, he said: "Nine and a half, more or less." He also said he was looking forward to the window shutting, so that he will know exactly what he is working with.

Reports in the Catalan media are more pessimistic about the transfer now, with Dembele seemingly unconvinced about a move to Paris. But Barca's director of institutional relations, Guillermo Amor, said on Saturday: "Something can always happen at the last minute." The saga is a distraction and whatever happens, at least it will be sorted out by Monday night.

Getty Images

Fati is a future star, but Barca need Messi back

Barcelona got back into the game against Osasuna as 16-year-old forward Ansu Fati came off the bench to head home a fine goal, his first for the club, and the youngster revolutionised the Catalans' attack in the second half as the club's €120 million summer signing, Antoine Griezmann, failed to make much of an impact.

His introduction was welcome, but Valverde's side should be beating teams like Osasuna, even without Messi and Luis Suarez, without relying on a 16-year-old to get them going. That said, any side in the world would find it difficult at times without their finest footballer and Barcelona are no different in that respect.

Fati could not believe it himself when he had scored and his team-mates were clearly thrilled for the teenager. He is a future star and could even go on to leapfrog Dembele in the pecking order at this rate, but Barca need their talisman back and when Messi returns, everything will improve.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in