Sunday’s El Clasico defeat did not force Barcelona to accept new-found nor tough conclusions. Their 3-1 derby loss in the Spanish Super Cup first leg was more of an affirmation of what was already suspected. Heading into the tie, Ernesto Valverde’s squad looked a little threadbare in terms of quality, and that manifested itself at Camp Nou.
Only one new player started on Sunday night, as La Masia graduate Gerard Deulofeu made his return. Initially anticipated as a man to add some much-needed depth to Barca’s attacking options, the Spaniard was instead thrown in at the deep end and given the task of filling the enormous boots of Neymar.
While Real Madrid’s consistent team selection ensured that an XI largely responsible for winning both La Liga and the Champions League was held together, Barcelona retained 10 that disappointed last campaign.
“We don’t need new signings because of the result, but because we have to refresh,” Sergio Busquets explained post-match. “And now is the time, no matter what.”
There have been bright sparks within the last year for Barca, but not enough of them to warrant keeping blind faith in the current unit. A Copa del Rey final victory, a 3-2 league win away against Real Madrid and a historic comeback against Paris Saint-Germain in Europe stood out, but the same issues that Luis Enrique suffered from in his final season look set to plague Ernesto Valverde if the action suggested by Busquets is not taken promptly.
Even before the sale of Neymar, Barcelona needed to look to the market. Nelson Semedo’s signing has potentially solved the problem position of right-back, but otherwise Valverde is left with a squad lacking both depth and star quality. The hallmark of Real Madrid’s success last season was their ability to field a fantastic second string, which allowed their stars to be rested with regularity, but at present Barca cannot do the same without undertaking a huge gamble.
Faced with turning around a two-goal deficit in the second leg of the Spanish Super Cup, Barca will be forced to use their full-strength XI once again. Zinedine Zidane will be confident that he can shuffle his pack without adversely affecting the overall capabilities of his team on Wednesday, whereas Valverde can only afford to make minor tweaks.
One look to the substitutes’ benches on Sunday showed why Barcelona will again struggle to challenge their fiercest rivals this season. Denis Suarez made a difference after replacing the disappointing Deulofeu, but otherwise they held little in reserve.
Sergi Roberto came into the game in midfield, having completed his sentence as a stand-in full-back, while Paco Alcacer couldn't match the power of fellow substitute Cristiano Ronaldo. Aside from the three substitutes they used, Lucas Digne, Nelson Semedo and Javier Mascherano were the hosts’ only other fit senior outfield options. Real Madrid, meanwhile, had the likes of Marco Asensio, Lucas Vazquez, Theo Hernandez and Dani Ceballos in reserve; speed, youth and the ability to create something out of nothing - which Asensio did emphatically.
Last summer, Barcelona’s transfer policy was a misguided attempt at trying to add depth behind a team that had won an unprecedented number of trophies under Luis Enrique. Not only did it fail, but it has since allowed their starting XI to fall into a mild state of disrepair. It isn’t merely the squad that needs fleshing out: some of Valverde’s starting options simply aren’t good enough.
The Blaugrana cannot head into their La Liga season with only Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez as proven goalscorers. Alcacer hasn’t found his Valencia form, while it would be irresponsible to assume that the likes of Deulofeu and Denis Suarez can hit the scoring figures required to bridge the gap left by Neymar’s sale. An ageing Andres Iniesta is no longer able to play two high-intensity matches within the space of a week, and there is an adventurous box-to-box presence missing from Barca’s midfield, which the club may or may not be remedying through the purchase of Paulinho.
It's too early to draw widespread conclusions with regard to Barcelona’s long-term prospects, but they must pay the due attention to problems that stretch back beyond the previous campaign.
While it's clear that Valverde can organise and manipulate his current options intelligently, it will be the high-profile, high-stakes matches in which their Super Cup frailties will likely rear their head again. Busquets recognises that fact, and so must the club’s chiefs while there are still opportunities to service an ailing ship.
In order to win trophies in previous years, Barca had to be an extraordinary unit or a team of extraordinary individuals. They have several of the latter, but Sunday proved that it's no longer enough. Real Madrid are showing no signs of slowing down, while their rivals try and scramble their resources to play catch up.
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