Barcelona cannot win without Lionel Messi, asserts Arsene Wenger
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Barcelona’s struggles this season have been quite evident and Arsene Wenger has pointed out the flaws in the Ernesto Valverde's system. The former Arsenal manager went on to admit that the Spanish champions are over-dependent on Lionel Messi to produce moments of magic and win games for them.
Barcelona toiled through their UEFA Champions League game against Slavia Praha but had to settle for a goalless draw against the Group F's rock bottom side. The La Liga giants walked into the game on the back of a shocking 3-1 loss to Levante at Ciudad de Valencia, for which manager Ernesto Valverde has been heavily criticised. However, while many expected a result the Catalan giants struggled to put their best foot forward and had to eventually settle for a draw at Camp nou.
That has seen former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger criticize Barcelona’s lack of intent and poor tactics which nearly cost them against Slavia. The Czech team were the dominant team at Camp Nou and created far better chances than the Catalans with Lionel Messi coming very close a few times. The former Arsenal boss also highlighted the fact that the team is over-dependent on Messi to score goals and create something out of nothing to help them out of a tight spot.
“They’re top of the league, they’re top of their group, and they play like a team in crisis. Their game is too slow. There is no dynamic in the last 30 metres, it’s too individual. Every time they lose the ball, it looks like they will concede a goal on the counterattack because they cannot deal with pace against the opponent... the team lacks dynamic, lacks energy, lacks confidence,” said Wenger to the beIN Sports.
Throughout the game, it was Messi who was trying to create chances and was score goals. Despite attacking stars like Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele on the field, it was Messi who had to take the burden of goalscoring with neither forward even making an impact on the game. Both the Frenchman lacked confidence throughout the game and the 70-year-old manager was quick to spot that.
“Today it looks like they play and they wait for Messi to do something, but the basic strengths of the team play is a bit gone. And you think, when will Messi get the ball to do something? And before, the music, the basic music, was the fantastic team play, making it difficult to catch the ball, and then on top of that came Messi. At the end it’s always the coach who is guilty, he’s not always responsible. There’s a difference between being guilty and responsible, you know?,” said Wenger.
