It’s safe to say that it has been a very poor season for Barcelona. They only occupy third in the La Liga table at this stage, and have already missed out on winning the Copa del Rey and Spanish Super Cup – the Champions League is their only realistic chance of a trophy, and even then, it’s very unlikely that they win that competition.
Rather incredibly, things could have been even worse for Barcelona, had it not been for their regular scoring of late goals. That trend continued on Saturday as a 97th minute penalty from Robert Lewandowski ensured that Xavi Hernandez’s side picked up a 2-1 victory over Celta Vigo at Balaidos.
As per Sport, Barcelona have picked up 19 points in the last 10 minutes of matches. On five occasions, they have scored the winning goal in stoppage time – vs Celta (twice), Las Palmas, Real Betis and Real Sociedad. If now for these goals scored after the 80th minute, the Blaugrana would be ninth in La Liga, behind the likes of Valencia and Las Palmas.
While it is a testament to Barcelona’s never-say-die attitude that they have picked up points late on so regularly, it’s part of an overall worrying theme that they simply have been very below par this season, hence why they are so far away from Real Madrid in the title race.
Things have not gone right in either third this year; inexplicable breakdowns in the defensive third, and despite creating a ton of chances in the opponent’s third, the goals just aren’t coming. Injuries left and right, having to give significant minutes to teenagers, and on and on.
I want to make clear that I’m not making excuses or lamenting “what-ifs” here, just dispassionately reflecting on what has been a very strange season so far.