Fc Barcelona loses points against Celta to give Real an edge in the title race

Fc Barcelona is a world-class team and probably one of the very best in the World. The main reason for that is obviously Lionel Messi. But their recent records and recent history are not according to their standards. Not talking here about their last few games but about the last two years. They are not playing the football they were known for.

The reason for that can be the absence of players like Xavi, Iniesta, and Neymar. Xavi is probably one of the best midfielders to ever play for Barcelona or to ever play football. Likewise is Iniesta he was a master of his work. Barca misses them so much and their performances show how much they need players like them.

Xavi left Barca in 2015 after the final of the Uefa champions league which they won by 3-1 against Juventus and that was Xavi's last appearance for Barcelona. Andres Iniesta left in 2017/18 season since then Barca's midfield problems have not ended. They have bought a lot of midefielders to replace them but no one has ever come close to them.



The biggest shock they had was in 2017 when Neymar left them for PSG for a world record fee of 222 million Euros. That was an absolute shocker for them offensively from which they have not still recovered. They have signed a lot of different players for him too to fill up his boots but no one has come to provide the goods that he did.

 In the last few years, they have signed some big names such as Griezzman, Ousmane Dembele, Coutinho, Malcolm, Frenkie de Jong, and many more. But no one has fulfilled the expectations of the coach and the fans that they had from them at the time when they were signed.

This season was started badly for Barcelona as they managed to get only one point from the first three away games for them. Esterno Valverde was the coach at that time. Barca lost very easy games at Osasuna, Bilbao, and Granada. Also, Lionel Messi missed a few games at the start of the season due to injury.

Fc Barcelona lost 3-2 in the semi-final of the Spanish Super Cup against Atletico Madrid. After that defeat, Valverde was fired from his job and Quique Setien was appointed as the new Barcelona coach hoping that he will change the rhythm of this team and put some energy in them.

But he failed to fulfill the expectations of Barca supporters. Barca was knocked out the Copa Del Rey in March. They have drawn in the first leg of the round of 16 of the champions league against Napoli and will face them in August for the decider. That match will be played at a neutral stadium and no supporters will be allowed to enter the stadium to support any team.

La Liga has resumed after the suspension after three months of wait. It has not returned well for the current champions, unlike their arch-rival Real Madrid who has won all the matches they have played so far. Barcelona has not won all of its games and the ones they have won are not very convincing except for the first game.

Barca played their first game against Mallorca and won that match 4-0 and that is the only convincing victory they had. The second game was against Leganes which they won 2-0: a goal from Ansu Fati and one from Lionel Messi. The third match was away at Sevilla where Sevilla dominated the game in terms of the chances created. Barca had more possession of the ball but was unable to cut their solid defense. That game ended in a goalless draw.

The fourth game was also against a strong team in the shape of the Athletic club. The situation was pretty much the same as was in the Sevilla game, they were extremely difficult to break and no proper chances were created until the 70th minute when Rakitic came and scored the goal assisted by Lionel Messi to save their skin in a must-win game. No further goals were scored in the match.

Their next game again was a very crucial game away from home at Celta where their away record has not been good in recent years. Barca scored first by a goal from Luis Suarez in the 20th minute by an assist from Messi. Celta leveled on the 50th minute of the match when their striker Fyodor Smolov scored. Barca again took the lead in the 67th-minute form the same combo of Suarez and Messi. Messi assisted that goal and Suarez scored. Celta again came back from behind and scored a goal to level the match 2-2. This time it was their talisman Iago Aspas who scored from a straight free kick in the 88th minute of the match.

Barc again lost points and hence gave Real Madrid a chance to win the league by a margin of some points. We know that Barca was already on level terms on points and behind on head to head record and with 7 games remaining for Real Madrid, it is looking very hard for Barca to retain the league.



The Catalans will be hoping for a helping hand from the Los Blancos. On the other hand, Madridistas across the globe will be hoping for their team to stay firm and win all their remaining matches and hence lift the trophy for the 34th time. Keep that in mind that Real have not won this trophy for the last two years so this year they will be hoping to give their fans a gift of the league title.