Barcelona struggle to pick up the pieces after summer of turmoil

Star player reluctantly still at club, president forced out, new manager struggling and a team sitting mid-table in La Liga – all is not well at Camp Nou

BARCA PLAYER RATINGS V DYNAMO KIEV: Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, 9 – Returned from injury to make his first start of the season, and was Barca’s man of the match. He had very little to do early on, but he came to life when he was called into action to save well from Buyalskyi. He made further crucial saves to deny Supriaha and Tsygankov, and was unlucky to parry the ball into the path of Tsygankov for Kyiv’s consolation. Getty

Sergino Dest, 6 – The American looked dangerous going forward and was at his most potent when reaching the byline and cutting the ball back into the box, which he did several times. Was sometimes caught out on the break, though. AFP

Frenkie De Jong, 6 – Filled in at centre-back alongside Pique and had a difficult evening. Kyiv had plenty of clear-cut scoring chances and De Jong looked uncomfortable. AFP

Gerard Pique, 7 – Pique had to use all his experience in a tense end to the first half as Kyiv threatened to level with the score at 1-0. In the second half, he found himself in the right place at the right time to glance Fati’s cross to double Barca’s advantage. Looked to have handled the ball in a dangerous area late on, but the referee waved play on. Reuters

Jordi Alba, 5 – A poor night for Alaba, who struggled to keep Kyiv’s depleted side under wraps. Barca looked vulnerable on the break but also on both flanks. Reuters

Sergio Busquets, 5 – Barca’s midfield struggled to assert their authority on the game and Busquets was guilty of failing to keep possession. The match sometimes passed him by, and he was replaced in the second half. AP

Miralem Pjanic, 6 – A frustrating evening for Pjanic who, while looking dangerous going forward, didn’t do enough to dominate in the middle. Doesn’t seem to be clicking when playing alongside Busquets. AFP

Pedri, 7 – The youngster was unlucky to find the net. First, after getting on the end of a pull-back from Dest, he thundered the ball against the bar. Then, just before the break, he failed to beat Neshcheret when he connected with another Dest cross. Getty

Ansu Fati, 8 – He was a constant menace on the left, going close and forcing a save from Neshcheret when he cut through both Kedziora and Tsygankov. Moments later, he headed just wide from a corner. He was most effective when cutting in from the left, and he did so again before crossing for Pique to head home Barca’s winner. EPA

Lionel Messi, 8 – Made his 150th European appearance for Barcelona and was dangerous all evening. He dictated the early play and was brought down in the fifth minute. He dusted himself off to convert from the spot for his fourth of the season, all of which have come from the penalty spot. Could have had more but for a fine performance from Neshcheret in the Kyiv goal. Getty

Antoine Griezmann, 6 – The Frenchman has been criticised for not contributing, but tonight he had opportunities to score. He came close early on and then missed from six yards with the goal gaping following Neshcheret’s save from Fati’s effort. That miss seemed to dent his confidence, and he went missing for much of the match thereafter. AP

SUBS: Ousmane Dembele (Griezmann, 60) 8 – Seems to make the best impact for the team when he comes on as a sub. He had a shot soon after entering the game, and he looked lively in the ten minutes he was on the field. Getty

Sergi Roberto (Pjanic 60) 6 – Came close with a header moments after coming on, but his effort was denied by Neshcheret from point-blank range. EPA

Clement Lenglet (Busquets 73) N/A – Came on in an attempt from Ronald Koeman to shore up the defence, but he gave away a lot of fouls, heaping more pressure on his teammates. Getty

Francisco Trincao (Fati 73) N/A – Had big shoes to fill when coming on to replace the impressive Fati, and struggled to get into the game. Getty

Carles Alena (Pedri 83) N/A – More game time for the 22-year-old. Endured a tense finish, but made few errors when coming on. Getty

Marc-Andre ter Stegen spent most of the last three months out of action. After a dispiriting August night in Lisbon – Bayern Munich 8 Barcelona 2 – the Barca goalkeeper underwent knee surgery.

In his absence, his club underwent various invasive procedures removing much of their leadership, although by the end of his first 90 minutes back, Ter Stegen could hardly help thinking how very little has changed.

Without him, Barcelona might have conceded four or five Dynamo Kiev goals at Camp Nou on Wednesday, the German keeper reminding anybody who had forgotten that, on form, he is peerless.

He made half a dozen high-class saves against a Dynamo missing six players because of positive coronavirus tests ahead of their trip to Catalonia in the Champions League.

At first, they looked horribly undermanned, carved apart and thankful to their third-choice keeper, Ruslan Neshcheret, for limiting Barca to a single first half goal.

By the end, Gerard Pique’s second-half header was the only difference in a 2-1 struggle of a win, Barca peaking early and then slumping alarmingly.

For Pique, the evening was much like the story of the club’s trajectory over the last few years. “It is obvious the tendency is downwards,” the club’s most candid dressing-room spokesman said, “and that every year we have got a bit worse. But we have been through a lot of changes”.

One of them took place 10 days ago, when the unpopular president Josep Maria Bartomeu resigned, heralding elections for his successor early in the new year. Two months earlier, a new manager, Ronald Koeman, was appointed. And the most important episode that Barcelona's brilliant goalkeeper watched from the sidelines was Lionel Messi trying and failing to leave.

Thanks to ter Stegen, Barcelona have maximum points in Europe so far. Domestically they are stuttering. Koeman has overseen Barca’s worst start to a La Liga campaign for 18 years, and they take on Real Betis on Saturday from a position in the bottom half of the table, albeit with matches in hand, and with a mere two points from the last 12 they have contested.

Koeman's frustrations are animating his touchline theatrics. At Alaves, where a nervous error from Ter Stegen's deputy, Neto, put Barcelona 1-0 behind last weekend, the Dutchman fumed as his players squandered chance after chance before and after Antoine Griezmann scored a long overdue goal. It finished 1-1.

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Barca 1 Real 3: clasico player ratings

BARCELONA RATINGS: Neto - 6. Powerless to prevent Valverde from opening the scoring but got agonisingly close to Ramos’ accurate penalty. Reuters

Jordi Alba - 7. A classic Alba run on the overlap saw him in oceans of space that allowed him to play a simple pass for Ansu Fati to slot home the equaliser. Replaced by Martin Braithwaite in the final few minutes. Reuters

Clement Lenglet - 6. Booked for a first half bodycheck as Real looked to spring a counterattack, before an inexplicable shirt pull on Ramos gave away a needless penalty that took the game away from his side. EPA

Gerard Pique - 6. A calm head amid the helter-skelter of the Clasico, and the Barca veteran shepherded proceedings well after a shaky opening 10 minutes from his colleagues. Reuters

Sergino Dest - 8. An excellent display defensively against the dangerous duo of Vinicius and Mendy on Real’s left, and the Dutchman wasn’t afraid to foray forward either. Getty

Frenkie de Jong - 6. Typically neat and tidy in possession without clamouring for the big-game limelight. Getty

Sergio Busquets - 5. Failed to track the run of Valverde as the Real man raced away to open the scoring, and the experienced head in midfield was not quite at his polished best as he was targeted for some close physical attention. AP

Philippe Coutinho - 5. Really struggled to get his foot on the ball and make things happen in what was a quick-paced Clasico, and the Brazilian somehow failed to hit the target with a simple header from inside the six-yard box in the second half. Reuters

Ansu Fati - 7. The youngster was always half a yard ahead of Ramos in the build-up to his early equaliser, and he had the defender in trouble again when he worked a yard and fired just wide at the start of the second 45. Getty

Pedri - 5. A big call by manager Ronald Koeman to start the 17-year-old, and the game was played at a speed and intensity that the youngster was perhaps not ready for as he was caught on the ball on more than one occasion. AFP

Lionel Messi - 7. A delightful ball over the top released Alba for Barca’s equaliser, but the Argentine really should have scored when he strolled past Ramos and forced a great save from Courtois. Booked for dissent in the closing stages. Getty

Antoine Griezmann - N/A. Unable to make an impact in his short cameo. AFP

Ousmane Dembele - N/A. Tried to stretch the Real defence but it was too little, too late. Reuters

Francisco Trincao - N/A. Didn’t work his way into the game in the closing stages. Getty

Martin Braithwaite - N/A. Unable to sniff out a late chance. Getty

REAL MADRID RATINGS: Thibaut Courtois - 6. Nothing he could do about Fati’s goal, but an excellent save denied Messi later on in the first half. Getty

Ferland Mendy - 6. A real presence on the overlap and provided great support for Vinicius as the forward looked to drift inside and create. EPA

Sergio Ramos - 7. Allowed Messi to escape his attention far too easily and was lucky to have Courtois in top form behind him. A threat from set pieces at the other end, though, and superbly tucked away a second-half penalty he won when his shirt was pulled by Lenglet. AFP

Raphael Varane - 6. Played a backseat role in the middle of Real’s defence with Ramos being the main defensive carrier of the ball, but the Frenchman never found himself in any real danger. AFP

Nacho - 6. Put himself about in effective fashion but picked up a booking in the first half for a poor lunge on Coutinho, and was replaced shortly after by Lucas Vazquez for what looked like an injury. AFP

Casemiro - 6. Booked in the opening 20 minutes for trying (and failing) to cynically halt a Messi run through the Real backline, but a brilliant tackle in the penalty area denied the Barca dangerman a shot on goal soon after. A mixed bag of a game for the midfield destroyer. Getty

Toni Kroos - 7. Expertly marshalled the midfield in typical Rolls-Royce fashion, but he will be disappointed he didn’t finish the game off when he fired straight at Neto late on. Reuters

Federico Valverde - 7. The Uruguayan showed great awareness to make a darting run in behind before expertly clipping the ball past Neto to put Real ahead inside five minutes. Replaced by Luka Modric on 68 minutes after picking up a knock. AP

Marco Asensio - 5. The more subdued of the Madrid attacking trio and the game largely passed him by, with most of his side’s joy coming down the other flank. Replaced by Rodrygo for the final 10 minutes. AP

Vinicius Junior - 6. Always looked dangerous and on the verge of making something happen in the first half, but the 20-year-old faded in the second period and was unable to get back into the game. EPA

Karim Benzema - 7. A lovely ball through the lines released Valverde for the opener and the Madrid number 9 knitted play together brilliantly in the final third, but he will be bitterly disappointed that he was unable to stretch Neto when presented with a great chance at the midway point of the first half. Reuters

Lucas Vazquez - 7. Occasionally looked like a winger playing at right back, but on the whole, he slotted in excellently and adapted well to a tricky brief. AFP

Luka Modric - 7. Showed brilliant composure to wriggle away from a couple of defenders and slot the ball home in the final minute to seal the win. Getty

Rodrygo - N/A. Played his part in the final goal of the game when he squared a loose ball to Modric. AFP

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Four days later, more wastefulness had Koeman pacing, agitated, about his technical area again, Griezmann among those whose finishing was wayward against Dynamo.

But it was the imprecise passing and the lack of control that most perturbed him. Koeman, a hugely influential Barcelona player in the late 1980s and 1990s, knows better than most that careful use of the ball and domination by possession are what Barca regard as a trademark. “We left too much open space,” he said of the scare against Dynamo. “We have to be better when we don’t have the ball.”

Koeman is the third different man to take charge of Barca this calendar year, and must look at an imminent presidential election as a mixed blessing.

The dressing-room will be a happier place now that Bartomeu’s board are gone, but a new overlord very often means a new manager. One of the early favourites to be voted in as the next president, the businessman Victor Font, would like Xavi Hernandez, the former Barca captain now coaching Al-Sadd of Qatar, as part of his staff.

Font says he can imagine Xavi in a management role while Koeman continues in the dugout. That, though, would assume the Dutchman was thriving. A Barcelona manager who has lost his first clasico, at home, against Real Madrid, and won just two of his first six Liga games can hardly be said to be thriving.

He is yet to see his superstar score a goal from open play, either, Messi’s four from this season having all come from the penalty spot.

Granted, he captain was the fouled player for two of those penalties and his performances under Koeman have so far encouraged no suspicions Messi might not be as committed or capable of brilliance after his failed bid to leave.

What Messi has not seen is enough change around him to alter his view that Barcelona are far from the team he used to steer to regular European Cup success and long unbroken sequences of La Liga titles.

“It’s natural that we’re not considered top candidates,” said Pique. “All we can do is work hard, and the results will follow.”