Barça’s recent first leg ties in both Copa del Rey and UEFA Champions League saw the Blaugrana victorious in both clashes. Yet, their failure to finish off their opponents is a habit that must come to an end.
Barça’s 2015 continue to be one full of progress ever since that loss to Real Sociedad with the minor hiccup of the Malaga loss. Whatever experimentation Luis Enrique was doing in the first half of the season has been abandoned. He and the players seem to have made strides in making this season a memorable one. They have one foot into the Copa del Rey Final after defeating Villarreal 3-1 at the Camp Nou in the first leg of their Semi-Finals clash.
Barça’s success in cup competitions continued last week when Barça traveled to the UK to face Manchester City in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie and returned to Barcelona with a 2-1 victory. Both cup victories were a boost to the morale of the team and its fans. However, both victories also left a small bitter taste of disappointment among the fans.
For you see, in both matches, Barça were awarded a penalty towards the end of the match. Yet, both times, they failed to convert from the spot. Neymar missed from the spot against Villarreal and Messi missed from the spot against Manchester City. Moments like those must not be squandered.
If Neymar had scored from the spot, and assuming that Villarreal would not have still scored before the final whistle, the final score would have ended 4-1 and all but ended the tie right there. Villarreal would have needed to win the return leg 3-0 to advance, but instead, a 2-0 result would suffice for them. If Messi had converted from the spot, Barça would have left with a 3-1 win and with an important three away goals advantage. Of course, two away goals are still valuable since this means Manchester City will have to attack, because a 2-0 win would be enough to see them through to the next round. No doubt Barça will look forward to Manchester City playing to attack and not sit back and defend.
If Neymar had scored from the spot, and assuming that Villarreal would not have still scored before the final whistle, the final score would have ended 4-1 and all but ended the tie right there. Villarreal would have needed to win the return leg 3-0 to advance, but instead, a 2-0 result would suffice for them. If Messi had converted from the spot, Barça would have left with a 3-1 win and with an important three away goals advantage. Of course, two away goals are still valuable since this means Manchester City will have to attack, because a 2-0 win would be enough to see them through to the next round. No doubt Barça will look forward to Manchester City playing to attack and not sit back and defend.
Some may construe this as whining. “Hey, your team won; be happy!” Oh I am happy. This is about Barça not finishing teams off. The Blaugrana had two chances to kill off teams in the first leg of a cup tie which could have afforded them a chance to rest some players in the second leg as they remain on course to challenge for the treble. If Barça do not somehow collapse to Manchester City at the Camp Nou, they will be fighting for the Champions League title with seven other teams. Barça better not squander golden chances to finish off teams when the opportunity presents itself. With Real Madrid only two points ahead of them in the league standings, now is the time for Barça to develop a knack of going for the kill for the rest of the season especially with El Clásico is right around the corner.
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