Why Barcelona is struggling in La Liga this season

Barcelona is one of the two most famous Spanish clubs alongside Real Madrid, and the La Liga title race is always expected to be two-horse between both of them.

Last season, the Catalans were the champions of Spain as Xavi Hernandez brought the league crown back to Catalonia after three seasons away.

His return to the club had brought about different reactions from the club’s fans and observers in Spanish football.

Xavi did not have enough experience and had never coached in Europe before taking the job.

In the past, Barca has shown they are unafraid to trust an untested gaffer, and Pep Guardiola also got the job without managing any other senior club.

Luis Enrique was a surer alternative and had a lot of experience in European football before he returned to manage Barca.

Xavi did not, and winning last season’s title vindicated the board, who had trusted him with the job, and he brought relief to fans who thought that they could not find domestic success without Lionel Messi.

However, Barca fell short in Europe, but it did not matter much as they had defeated Real Madrid to win the league.

This season, Barcelona ticket buyers have not been very happy with how the team’s defence of the title has gone.

Real Madrid is looking likely to step up and win the league again, even though there are question marks over if their team is too young to be champions.

There is also a threat from Girona, who we expect to fall away from the title race eventually.

Barca’s main challengers are Real and Atletico Madrid, which are credible teams to worry about.

Both won the previous three league crowns before Barca’s success last term, and this shows they are teams that can stop Barca from defending the crown.

But what has really made life hard for Barca in the Spanish top flight this term?

A lack of consistency

To win a major European league, you must be consistent; that is not what we can associate with this term's Barca team.

The Catalans were unbeaten in their first 13 competitive games of the season in all competitions but lost the 14th to Real Madrid in the derby.

Since then, they have been plagued with inconsistency and have been unable to hold down a five-game winning run.

To win a league as competitive as La Liga, a winning run is required, and Barca faces a new competition for the title from Girona.

They had a good time in their game against Atletico de Madrid and defeated Diego Simeone’s side.

That win shows they are a team that can compete well against the top sides in the league, but dropping points against Granada and Rayo Vallecano is not good for their chances of winning the league.

This lack of consistency and struggles against opponents they should ideally win hurt their chances of being champions at the end of this term.

Unless they arrest these issues, it would be hard to see them stop Madrid from being champions. 

Reliance on inexperienced players

Barcelona is famed for grooming some of the world's finest talents, and we have seen them deliver top performances for the team when they break through.

Across the city of Madrid, a revolution is happening as Los Blancos bolsters their squad with some of the finest young players in Europe.

It is exciting to see that, but it will hardly change the fact that youngsters do not win trophies, which is why we wonder if Madrid's team is too young to win the league.

Youngsters can win games, but sometimes, when games are tough or very tight, you need experienced players to secure your victory.

The likes of Robert Lewandowski, Orel Romeo, Ilkay Gundogan, Inigo Martinez, and Joao Cancelo are very experienced players.

They are key members of the squad, but Barca also relies on the likes of Lamine Yamal, Ferran Torres, Gavi, Pedri, Alejandro Balde, and Fermin Lopez.

These are exciting youngsters who have earned the right to be in the team, but they are also a reason it has been difficult to match the results of Madrid and Atleti.

They have limited experience and cannot get out of every situation in games, which is why Barca has dropped points in some matches this term.

This season is shaping to be a campaign requiring the best from every team competing for the league before they can be champions.

Barca must start trusting its experienced players more or find a system that will make their youngsters thrive and deliver better results.

No clear starting XI

When a club has a big squad, it can be very tough for the manager to select his best starting XI and that has been a problem for Xavi this term.

The Barca coach is spoilt for choice with talents all over the place, so he has had to make changes to his team often.

In the last few weeks, we have watched him combine Joao Felix, Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha as his front-three while using Ilkay Gundogan, Frenkie de Jong, and Pedri as the midfielders in a 4-3-3 formation.

Xavi has used this same system in some games and has found a team to use in different games.

However, this team does not include the likes of Ferran Torres, Yammal, and Gavi, among others.

In other games, these players will start ahead of the above-listed stars, and this lack of a permanent starting XI hurts the team’s chance to win consistently.

Some changes are forced on the manager because of injuries, which is normal in football, but a lack of a stable starting XI affects results on the pitch and Xavi must find his best team and stick with it as much as possible.

Brilliance of opponents

Perhaps the biggest reason that Barcelona seems to be having a bad season, even though they have lost just one league game and one game in the Champions League, is because of the form of the other clubs in the league.

We have talked about Girona’s brilliance at the start of the term as they show why they could become one of the biggest underdog stories in Europe’s top league’s this term.

They have been dubbed the king of comebacks for a reason and are living comfortably up to expectations in La Liga.

However, the team whose form will worry Barca most is Real Madrid, who have finally taken over the top spot from Girona, although they only lead by goal difference.

Madrid is one of the biggest clubs in Europe and has the quality to remain at the top of the standings for the rest of the campaign.

Barca’s biggest fear has been for Madrid to be at the top of the league standings in La Liga and that is exactly what has happened now.

A lot will depend on how both clubs perform in the next few months, but we can predict that the leadership of the league standing will change hands on different occasions.

If Barca wants to be among the sides topping the log at some points in the campaign, they have to be at their best and address the issues we have covered in this article.