Barcelona could have been very well the side that went out of the Champions League on Tuesday evening in the Signal Iduna Park, if you only got the scenes during the last whistle. Raphinha was exhausted on the floor and stretched his legs. Lamine Yamal cut a miserable figure on the couch and Robert Lewandowski and Wojciech Szczesny spoke with serious faces while walking off the field.
While they first achieved the last four in six years, manager Hansi Flick admitted that he had to remind his side of their success and to lift it morally. In the Mixzone, Jules Kounde, Robert Lewandowski and Frenkie de Jong all made it clear that they were not happy with the performance.
As reported by MD, there were several lessons from their journey to Germany. A frequent theme because of their defeats this season, individual mistakes cost Barcelona, such as Kounde, Ronald Arajo and De Jong wanted in the goals. All three were accused of decayed concentration.
Two absence also appeared great in Dortmund. Inigo Martinez was replaced by Araujo, with Flick explaining that he was omitted to prevent a suspension for the semi -final, with a yellow card that resulted in a ban. Without him, the Barcelona backline struggled to operate the offside trap as effective and he was not lacking in leadership.
In contrast to Martinez, Pedri was forwarded for the last half hour to calm Barcelona in midfield. Despite two aggressive and combative players next to De Jong in midfield, the Dutchman seemed flooded behind Gavi and Fermin Lopez. Pedri's balance on the ball and its positioning was immediately noticed after his introduction.
Perhaps the two most disturbing concerns that were taken away from their journey were the fatigue and the finish. The first, a growing care for Flick, was clear because Barcelona had difficulty pressing and matching Dortmund's pace. The latter was also a problem – what Barcelona had, they turned out not to be effective in the last third part. The last two games Barcelona have only scored twice, well among their averages, and both on their own goals.
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