Barcelona captain Sergio Busquets felt Barcelona were a little lacking in attack against Girona, after the visitors secured just their second clean sheet of the season at Camp Nou in Monday night’s 0-0 draw. The veteran midfielder also perhaps hinted at how much the Blaugrana rely on certain players.
Speaking to DAZN after the match in comments carried by Sport, Busquets felt that Girona got into the game, and Barcelona struggled to unbalance them after that.
“In the first half they had a little more of the ball. They put players inside and we didn’t press well. As the minutes went by they established themselves and it was difficult for us to make the last pass.”
“We had chances in the first half, but it couldn’t be. We lacked luck and the decisiveness of other days. In the second half we got to the box often, but they closed us off with a line of five.”
He did point to one avenue of improvement for the struggling Barcelona attack, which has not been effective of late. In their last nine games, the Blaugrana have only managed to score more than once twice, being shut out in three of those ties too.
“We have to recover players, because that will make us stronger.”
It has been a major narrative that without Pedri and Ousmane Dembele, Barcelona’s attack lacks spark and creativity. They are also missing the incisive passing of Frenkie de Jong and Andreas Christensen, but Busquets’ words would appear to confirm that the same thought process exists within the dressing room.
Pedri has been absent since mid-February with muscle issues, and Dembele similarly has been out of the side since late January, with both of their recoveries taking longer than expected. There is a feeling they might have been able to do better in the Copa del Rey and Europa League with them there.
Busquets did finish by delcaring that it was the responsibility was of the whole team to create opportunities, not just the under pressure forward line.
“Our idea is that the better we are collectively, the better for the attacking footballers. We’re all in the same boat, but when you can’t [score], you can’t [there is no way]. We’ve gained one more point of advantage over Madrid.”
