Barcelona’s away record offers silver lining – even if performances are still unconvincing

Many people believe that there's no place comparable to home, but that's not the case for Barcelona this season. They have demonstrated that their performance is stronger when they play away from Montjuic, at least based on their results.

Barcelona currently holds the third spot in La Liga's away table with a trailing difference of three points compared to leaders Real Madrid and only one behind second-placed Girona.

Xavi's team has remained unbeaten in all their away league games, but have lost three games while playing at their temporary home in Montjuic. However, even though their performance tends to be better during away games, it's not always the case that the team plays better.

This statistic can be interpreted in two different ways. Firstly, it can provide optimism despite some of the challenging away games that are still yet to be played. The team will have to face Athletic Bilbao, Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid, and Girona in the remainder of the season.

However, it could be that their away record remains impressive because they have yet to face the toughest stadiums in the competition.

The game on Saturday in Cigo against Celta demonstrated that the team may have improved, although they didn't always play their best.

For Barcelona, Balaidos stadium has always posed a challenge. Out of their past 10 visits, the team from Catalonia could manage a victory only twice, one of which came in their most recent match over the weekend.

The gathering was an overall reflection of Barca's season - their performance was inadequate, they held the ball for an extended period, yet couldn't generate many opportunities, and in just a few passes, it looked as though any opposing team could inflict damage. The team was playing drowsily during the match, but they eventually became more alert in the last segment.

In the match versus Celta, their performance was once again lacking. They began with an unusual formation, which suggested that Xavi was already considering the upcoming Champions League match against Napoli happening on Wednesday night.

In the initial 45-minute period, they had difficulty with their gameplay. They weren't able to make passes within or in between lines and relied primarily on short, cautious passes between the central defenders. They eventually became uninterested and tried a long pass to switch up their strategy.

Yamal frequently felt puzzled and annoyed.

During the match, Pau Cubarsi took on the position of centre defender alongside Ronald Araujo. However, he played on the left side, a deviation from his typical position, which appeared to cause discomfort. We noticed that he didn't display his usual technique of playing out from the back.

Andreas Christensen didn't stand out as a game-changer while playing in the midfield, but he managed to keep control of the ball and brought a sense of determination to the team by heavily pressing their opponents. Frenkie De Jong was among the few players who could match the necessary level of intensity during those crucial moments.

The team's gameplay was lacking in speed and they were incapable of making swift passes to outdo their opponents. During the initial half, they merely made two attempts to score a goal.

Lamine Yamal, who seemed to be the only player capable of causing problems for Celta, was unable to receive the ball. Nonetheless, he could not make much of an impact, except for providing the assist for Robert Lewandowski's first goal.

The Polish player reminded everyone of his past achievements by making an impressive goal right before the break. He executed two flawless touches and finished off with a strong shot from outside the penalty area.

At halftime, Barcelona had a lead that they had not earned, but within just 90 seconds of the game restarting, Iago Aspas managed to even the score.

Xavi commented post-match that he had experienced a moment of reduced focus, which resulted in Celta scoring with a commendable combination play executed by Larssen and Aspas.

The team has been struggling with issues related to concentration throughout the entirety of the season. The goalkeeper, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, has acknowledged this problem and has urged his fellow teammates to stay more attentive during different points of the game.

Although Barcelona aimed to win, the second half only showed a small increase in their energy, yet it seemed unlikely that they would succeed in gaining all three points. The team still didn't perform at their highest level, and it appeared as if a miracle was necessary to achieve victory.

However, a miraculous moment occurred during the game. During the 97th minute, Yamal was fouled and the referee awarded Barcelona a penalty kick. Lewandowski took the penalty, but unfortunately his shot was stopped by Vicente Guaita. Luckily for Barcelona, VAR was used and determined that the goalkeeper had moved too far off his line, so the penalty kick had to be retaken.

The attacker managed to score on his second attempt and Barcelona triumphed once more despite frequently appearing to be short on creative solutions.

Barcelona has earned points in the last 15 minutes of their La Liga matches 15 times out of 25 games played this season.

Xavi's statement after the game was not surprising at all.

"We deserved to win and should focus on improving our concentration at the beginning of each half. This victory has lifted our spirits and allowed us to have confidence in our ability to succeed. We made more correct decisions than incorrect ones and have progressed since the game against Granada. Overall, we witnessed a positive performance from Barca," stated Xavi.

Securing another victory on the road would help calm supporters' worries before the upcoming excursion to Naples, despite lingering anxieties about the squad's unity.

In the uppermost image, we can see Jose Manuel Alvarez's amazing shot captured during a sports event. The quality of the photograph speaks for itself and certainly deserves praise. The moment he has captured is priceless, and we can appreciate just how skilled he is at his craft. The image truly captures the excitement and energy of the sport being played, and we can only imagine how difficult it may have been to capture the perfect shot. We applaud Mr. Alvarez for his talent and ability to capture moments like this!