BARCELONA LOSES TO ESPANYOL IN THE COPA DEL REY: IS THIS A SIGN OF THINGS TO COME?

On Wednesday night, January 17, 2018, Barcelona lost its first game since August 2018 and it was at the hands of its Catalan rival, Espanyol. From Barca’s starting lineup to the display on the pitch, there was a sign of casualness. So it was no wonder that Lionel Messi missed a penalty and Barca conceded an avoidable goal on minute 88, and went on to lose 1 – 0 to Espanyol.

From the blast of the first half whistle, Espanyol were a team waiting to be defeated.  But perhaps due to Barca’s lineup, with Busquets and Messi seemingly being the only Barca players interested in creating anything of note, Espanyol remained unscathed. One would easily be forgiven not to think of the match as a derby, given the first half showing by both teams.

The second half saw both teams showing much more urgency; Barca had Sergi Roberto working the right flank, which ultimately resulted into a penalty that was wasted by Messi. Espanyol had two shots on target, one of which entered the net, ending the score 1 – 0 in favor of the home team.

What does this loss tell us about the days ahead?

On the one hand, if one puts this defeat in the context of Barca just coming from a hard-fought 4 – 2 victory at their boogey ground, Anoeta, against Real Sociedad, having being trailing by 2 – 0 at one point in the game, then there may be worrying signs. On the other hand, given the starting lineup of Barca at Espanyol, one can remain calm and consider this as a blip – that Barca were bound to lose at some point in the season. The only concern here then, is that the defeat by Espanyol has just given Barca more strain – now they must win by two or more goals against Espanyol at the Camp Nou on January 25! Doable, but at a cost, as trip to Real Betis comes in between, and that too is not an easy ride.

Overall then, given Barca’s hefty lead in La Liga, and the Chelsea game not due until February 20, points to the fact that there is nothing to fear. Of course this will all depend on how Barca navigate the fixtures with Alaves (home), Espanyol (away again), Getafe (home) and Eibar (away).  The onus is now on Ernesto Valverde to ensure that if he decides to rotate, which he must do, then his selection should not be as haphazard as the one against Espanyol!