It is tough at the top, as Barcelona know all too well. If the Catalan club are to have problems, then it is better to have them now rather than in April and May, when the season's most crucial games take place, when Barca need to be at their best to knock European and Spanish heavyweights out of the race for league and cups.
Considering all that has gone against them so far this season, Barca have done well to be joint-top of the Primera Liga table with Real Madrid.
Luis Enrique has seen his Barca squad hit by injuries, they were given a tougher start to the season than any other team and, through their own errors, were unable to play players purchased in 2015 until 2016.
READ MORE:
– Bebe goes from Manchester United flop to one of Rayo Vallecano’s rising stars
– Cristiano Ronaldo scores and Keylor Navas stars as Real Madrid move top of Primera Liga
It is trite to describe a squad so stocked with talent as threadbare, but Barca’s fit players have almost all played significantly more than a year ago.
Ivan Rakitic has so far played 1,111 minutes for his club compared to 718 this time last year; Neymar 987 against 741; Mascherano 1,191 against 628, though he is suspended for the next two league games after insulting a linesman in the weekend win against Eibar, which resulted in a red card. Only three players – Lionel Messi, Claudio Bravo and Jeremy Mathieu – have played less minutes, the first two because of injury.
It helps that Barca have Luis Suarez, who has played more minutes this season than any other player. He had not played a minute due to his four-month ban this time last season.
Suarez was rested for the first time this campaign in Wednesday night’s Copa del Rey match against regional third division side Villanovense. That gave a chance for youngsters such as Sergi Samper, Gerard Gumbau, Wilfrid Kaptoum and Aitor Cantalapiedra to feature in a first-team game.
Enrique wanted to use more B team players, but under the rules, teams have to start seven established first teamers so that small clubs do not draw a giant club only to see them play their reserves.
Barca have new signings Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal waiting to start their first games for the club in January. Both have been training well, but that is no substitute for real matches. Barca are likely to strengthen their squad with more recruits, too
Barca will also have Messi back from injury, hopefully for next month’s clasico in Madrid, a game they lost last season. Andres Iniesta is also injured. Enrique likes to rotate his squad, to the point that he is criticised for making so many changes, but that has not been possible this term.
Not only did he lose Xavi, Pedro and Mark Montoya in the summer, added to the demands on Enrique’s squad was the European Super Cup in Georgia, which went to extra time, plus two Spanish Super Cup games against Athletic Bilbao.
A pre-season tour of the United States was not popular with players, and a December trip to Japan to play in the Fifa World Club Cup will leave the players jet-lagged and eat into festive holidays which have already been cut. Barca’s players are used to two weeks off over the festive period, allowing South American players to return home and rest. That will be cut by four days this season due to changes in the fixture list.
Last season, Madrid reached December and won the World Club Cup looking every bit like the best side in the world. It was only in the New Year that their exertions begin to catch up with them and they started to slip. Barca will be hoping that the same does not happen to them.
After strong start to La Liga season, Celta Vigo's Nolito should keep his options open
Celta Vigo striker Nolito gets better and better.
He is the most in-form outfield player in Spain, hugely talented and a major reason why Celta were top of the league before they met Real Madrid at the weekend.
Nolito performed brilliantly, as he has done in almost every game this season, but he was up against Keylor Navas, the best goalkeeper in Spain at the moment. Madrid won 3-1.
Asked about Navas, Nolito said: “The Madrid keeper stopped absolutely everything. He was the difference. He made some impossible saves.”
His striker partner Iago Aspas agreed: “A performance like that in goal makes you want to give up and go home.”
Nolito is not afraid to speak his mind and criticised the referee; Aspas had said of the official: “If you wear a certain colour jersey it makes it easy for the ref.”
“It’s always been this way and it always will,” Nolito said. “If you’re with Barca or Real Madrid the referees have more respect for you.
“They have to understand us. There are refs that provoke reactions and talk down to you in an arrogant way. Despite it all, we played well and came close to drawing the game.”
Celta are working hard to persuade Nolito to renew his contract. He claims his best is yet to come, and Barcelona are among the clubs interested in signing him in January.
Nolito faces a dilemma: Continue as he is doing, which is exceptionally well, with seven goals from nine league games, and have a realistic chance of playing for Spain at Euro 2016 – and Vicente del Bosque has always favoured players who are playing regularly for their clubs – or catch a train, which may only pass once, and join a giant club. He would have the security of a huge contract, but while Barcelona could use him right now with Lionel Messi injured, where would Nolito play in a front three of Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar? He would not, unless Messi played in a deeper role.
Nolito has already left Barcelona once because he wanted to play first-team football; he would not want to go there to be this year’s Pedro, a hugely popular and talented player who is ultimately a squad player.
Barca have looked at the option of buying an older striker, someone with proven class who would be comfortable coming off the bench, just as Henrik Larsson was years ago.
Nolito, 29, is not that player.
Player of the week
Keylor Navas, or “Keylor Paras” (Keylor stops) as he is known in the Real Madrid dressing room, was again exceptional as Madrid won 3-1 at Celta Vigo. Elsewhere, Kevin Gamiero scored a hat-trick as Sevilla hammered Getafe 5-0; Luis Suarez also got three for Barcelona, against Eibar; Javi Guerra got two for Rayo Vallecano as they beat Espanyol 3-0 while Aritz duriz was twice on the scoresheet as Athletic Bilbao beat Sporting Gijon.
Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE
sports@thenational.ae
