The Culés were unable to take advantage of Real Madrid’s draw and now find themselves tied on points with Atlético, although with one more contested match.
FC Barcelona is experiencing serious problems after a surprise defeat against Leganés (0-1), marking the visitors’ first victory against the Catalans on their lawn. The Catalan side have now accumulated just five points from their last six games, having let their lead at the top of the table slip.
Indeed, they remain at the top but no longer control their destiny. Barcelona shares the same total as Atlético Madrid (38 points) but played an extra match. Their performance is far from the performances seen recently, notably that seen this week in Dortmund during the Champions League.
However, after defeats against Real Sociedad, Las Palmas and now Leganés, Barcelona players have shown their worst face, collecting only five points out of a possible eighteen.
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Surprisingly, Barça was already leading in the 4th minute. Their start to the match was a real disaster; poorly positioned on the field, with weak pressing and a lack of communication in defensive coverage. Even before Leganés took the lead, Iñaki Peña had to intervene to deny an attempt from Munir.
Following the subsequent corner, Sergio González rose unmarked to head a goal for Leganés, with Barcelona not even realizing the danger until it was too late.
Leganés played defensively, hoping for a strong performance from Dmitrovic and that the completion from Barcelona’s attackers would be off target. Their strategy worked wonderfully. This pattern continued throughout the match, resulting in ineffective dialogue for the team coached today by Markus Sorg, who took charge due to the suspension of Hansi Flick.
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Despite not being at their best, Barcelona had three clear-cut chances to level the match, notably in the first half, but as in their previous clash against UD Las Palmas, the luck was not to be. their side.
In the 33rd minute, it was the Brazilian who came closest to equalizing with a shot that hit the crossbar, a touch from Dmitrovic preventing it. Just a minute later, the goalkeeper saved his team again after a good control from Lewandowski but a missed completion.
The first half was dotted with timeouts from Leganés and precision errors from Barcelona, raising many doubts for the home team, who struggled to create advantageous situations, find depth and, above all, , to show clarity in his game.
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The best news for Barca was that there were still 45 minutes left, but they continued to falter in the second half, displaying flat football with diminishing ideas.
Sorg introduced Ferran and Fermín for Lewandowski and Olmo with half an hour to play, but nothing changed. Cubarsí and Gavi were brought on for Eric and Lamine with fifteen minutes remaining, but Barcelona failed to register a shot on target.
In fact, Koundé had a golden opportunity to equalize in the 79th minute, but the Frenchman missed his shot. In the end, Barça resorted to long balls into the area without ever really believing in their luck. In a week’s time, Atlético’s visit to Montjuïc, where Barcelona have failed to score in their last 33 games, will determine exactly where they stand.
