
<p>Barcelona won LaLiga last season to end its relative drought in league titles. After three years without <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/barcelona-cruise-past-espanyol-to-win-la-liga-title-20230514-WST-432881.html">winning the domestic top flight</a>, Barcelona bested <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/real-madrid-tv-schedule/">Real Madrid</a> by 10 points. The Catalan club was not perfect in Xavi’s first full season at the helm. It fell in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League <em>again</em>, and Real Madrid knocked out <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/barcelona-tv-schedule/">Barcelona</a> in the Copa del Rey semifinals. Worse off, that came with a <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/benzema-blasts-barcelona-real-through-to-copa-del-rey-final-20230405-WST-426892.html">4-0 loss at home</a>. </p>



<p>Regardless of those two tournaments, Barcelona looked like it was ready to make a turn toward further success. It had a young core in the midfield of Pedri, Gavi and Frenkie de Jong to go along with Ronald Araujo in a breakout season. Robert Lewandowski, who won the Pichichi Award as the leading goal-scorer in LaLiga, would be back for a second season.</p>



<p>Despite all those positive signs, the first three months of the season have not been as smooth as fans would hope. Despite sitting third in the LaLiga table, Barcelona’s goal differential is the worst among the teams in the top four. </p>



<p>In Barcelona’s last five games in all competitions, it has three wins and two losses. The three wins came by one goal against inferior opposition in Shakhtar Donetsk, Real Sociedad and Alaves. Barcelona sweat out the win over Shakhtar and needed second-half heroics in the two league wins. The two losses were against Real Madrid in the league and Shakhtar Donetsk by one goal in Champions League play. Here is what has gone wrong with Barcelona.</p>



<h2>The ongoing issues still plaguing the Catalans</h2>



<p>It would be hard to blame the immediate struggles on the financial problems at Barcelona. Still, they play a role. Barcelona could only sign players at discount prices in the summer or on loan. Joao Felix and Joao Cancelo have been mainstays in the lineup, as have Ilkay Gundogan and Iñigo Martinez. Each provided depth, which has proven necessary.</p>



<p>The financial struggles of the last five years put <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/la-masia-continues-to-pay-dividends-for-cash-strapped-barcelona-20231023-WST-464128.html">more of an emphasis on La Masia</a> for Barcelona. Young players developed an increased presence in the Barcelona fold. For example, Pedri and Gavi have become integral parts of the squad. This comes at a major cost to Barcelona.</p>



<p>Injuries have plagued this side, and part of that is a tribute to the lack of depth in key areas. As a teenager during Messi’s last season with Barcelona, Pedri played in all but one league game. Since then, he has missed extended periods of time with injury. He, along with someone like Ansu Fati, never got to bring their talent to the table because they spent so much time on the sideline with injury. This season, Pedri has only featured in five out of a possible 17 games. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><figure class="image"><img loading="lazy" width="1200" height="675" src="https://ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https://images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/full/WST_20231114_WST_469966_Pedri-injury-1200x675.webp&amp;width=1200&amp;height=675" alt="" class="wp-image-470070" srcset="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/11/Pedri-injury-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/11/Pedri-injury-300x169.jpg 300w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/11/Pedri-injury-768x432.jpg 768w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/11/Pedri-injury.jpg 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px"></figure><figcaption>Pedri has long battled injuries. When he is fit, the 20-year-old is among the best midfielders in the world. Yet, it is hard for him to guarantee fitness for Xavi.</figcaption></figure>



<p>Couple Pedri’s absence with knocks to Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Frenkie de Jong, Sergi Roberto, and Jules Koundé. Xavi has had limited options for his team sheet across the pitch. Still, injuries are not exclusive to Barcelona. Real Madrid has battled injuries to key players this season, and those will last through the end of the season. For example, Eder Militao and <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/real-madrid-lose-courtois-to-acl-injury-who-will-replace-him-20230811-WST-449407.html">Thibaut Courtois</a> are out until the closing stages of the current campaign at the earliest. </p>



<h2>Inconsistent defense and nonclinical offense are key to Barcelona struggles</h2>



<p>Real Madrid may have more talent than Barcelona, it is also older on average and more experienced. Barcelona cannot do anything about that. However, the club has to do better when it comes to cleaning up simple mistakes. </p>



<p>Make of the ‘expected goals’ argument what you will. Some people love the analytics, others despise them. In the case of expected goals, Barcelona is the only team in the top four that has more expected goals than goals scored. In other words, Barcelona should be scoring more goals than it currently is. Based on the analytics, Barcelona’s expected goal differential in LaLiga this season is +13.3. That is the highest in the league. However, three clubs have a better actual goal differential. That means they are cashing in on their scoring chances more regularly than Barcelona is. </p>



<p>Defensively, Andreas Christensen and Jules Koundé have not been as strong as intended. Koundé is rounding into form as he recovers from injury, so Barcelona likely expected his struggles. Christensen, however, was one of the best free-agent signings in LaLiga a season ago. Now, he looks out of place with Ronald Araujo and Iñigo Martinez starting in the middle of a four-man defense. With one weak link, teams are taking advantage of their chances in the Barcelona box.</p>



<p>Offensively, Robert Lewandowski is starting to show his age. Despite scoring seven and assisting three in LaLiga play this season, Lewandowski has not excelled in hold-up play for a possession-heavy Barcelona offense. The Polish international still has a phenomenal shot and aerial ability that <a href="https://youtu.be/LUfX3ODqiTQ?si=0TuC0V34xTxE4nqu&amp;t=88" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">he displayed against Alaves</a> this past weekend. Barcelona will need Lewandowski to tap into his best of years past to score regularly if the Catalans want to compete in both LaLiga and the UEFA Champions League.</p>



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<div class="ck-youtube"><iframe loading="lazy" title="SEMRA HUNTER: RISING US STAR in #LaLiga 🇪🇸🇺🇸" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/klA0huNzo7A?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>
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<p><em>PHOTOS: IMAGO</em></p>


Explaining Barcelona's unexpected and dramatic dip in form

Barcelona is going through struggles that may not appear on the table. With so many close games, what has forced the downturn for Xavi?

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<p>Spain top flight <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/la-liga-tv-schedule/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">LaLiga</a> has dominated the latest list of top 10 most valuable soccer players in the world. <a href="https://www.footballbenchmark.com/home" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Football Benchmark</a>, a sports business analysis company, has released their list and there are some interesting inclusions and exclusions.</p>



<h5>Mbappé, Haaland are unsurprisingly top two players </h5>



<p>Perhaps unsurprisingly, <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/psg-tv-schedule/">Paris Saint-Germain’s</a> Kylian Mbappé tops Football Benchmark’s list. The France international leads the way with a current valuation of $218 million. Mbappé was subject to <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/2022/05/21/very-happy-mbappe-snubs-real-madrid-to-stay-at-psg/">a potential move to Real Madrid</a> last summer, but chose instead to remain in the French capital.</p>



<p><a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/manchester-city-tv-schedule/">Manchester City’s</a> Erling Haaland is now second on the list at $198 million. The superstar striker has racked up an incredible 42 goals in 36 total club matches during the current campaign. Haaland is on pace to smash the Premier League’s 38-game goalscoring record this season.</p>



<h2>LaLiga players makeup half of the most valuable list</h2>



<p>Besides the two undisputed top players on the planet, LaLiga players take up five of the top 10 players on the list. <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/real-madrid-tv-schedule/">Real Madrid</a> now have three players with Vinicius Jr., Federico Valverde, and Aurélien Tchouaméni. Gavi and Pedri, on the other hand, make the cut for <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/barcelona-tv-schedule/">Barcelona</a>.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<div class="ck-twitter"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Bayern Munich are reportedly keeping a close eye on Barcelona midfielder Gavi, should the Spaniard fail to sign another deal with the La Liga giants 😳<br><br>[Sky Sports Germany] <a href="https://t.co/NRVSNGMu7M">pic.twitter.com/NRVSNGMu7M</a></p>— Transfermarkt.co.uk (@TMuk_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/TMuk_news/status/1640682726415036416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 28, 2023</a></blockquote></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<p>Despite the Premier League’s dominance in fandom, there are only two English top flight players on the list. Haaland’s Manchester City teammate Phil Foden is the only other <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/premier-league-tv-schedule/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Premier League</a> player to make the top 10. <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/arsenal-tv-schedule/">Arsenal’s</a> duo of Bukayo Saka (12th) and Gabriel Jesus (16th) just miss the company’s cut. While Rodri (13th), Marcus Rashford (15th), Ruben Dias (19th) and Darwin Núñez (20th) all round out the league’s top 20 contenders. </p>



<h5>Football Benchmark’s top 10 most valuable soccer players:</h5>



<ol><li>Kylian Mbappé (PSG) – $218 million</li><li>Erling Haaland (Manchester City) – $198 million</li><li>Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund) – $165 million</li><li>Vinicius Jr. (Real Madrid) – $153 million</li><li>Phil Foden (Manchester City) – $150 million</li><li>Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich) – $147 million</li><li>Gavi (Barcelona) – $146 million</li><li>Pedri (Barcelona) – $144 million</li><li>Federico Valverde (Real Madrid) – $123 million</li><li>Aurélien Tchouaméni (Real Madrid) – $111 million</li></ol>



<p><em>PHOTO: IMAGO / ZUMA Wire</em></p>


LaLiga currently has five of the top 10 most valuable soccer players in the world according to Football Benchmark.

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Barcelona

Explaining Barcelona's unexpected and dramatic dip in form

Leagues: LaLiga

LaLiga dominates top 10 most valuable players list