5 Things FC Barcelona must do in order to get back to winning ways
The Catalan side have been knocked out from the Champions League (UCL) three times in a row since 2016. They have shown a lack of dedication and team strength in all of the UCL quarter-final second legs' since 2016. The fans are upset with their performance in the Champions League and they will certainly expect at least a UCL final berth, this season.
Barcelona have only won the UCL once in the last 7 years, whereas Real Madrid have pocketed four. A team like Barca is expected to challenge for the Champions League every single year.
These are 5 things that they must do in order to win the CL and the two domestic trophies.
#5 Get a worthy competitor for Luis Suarez
Luis Suarez has cemented his place as one of the best strikers of this decade by a mile. His time at Ajax and Liverpool was splendid, and he continued the same form at Barcelona. The MSN (Messi-Suarez-Neymar) have scored a staggering 364 goals in 450 games across all competitions for Barcelona.
In the 2015-16 season, Suarez scored a total of 40 goals in just 35 games, with 16 assists to his name as well. Although, since the past two years, Suarez has not been in his best form. He scored just once in a total of 10 games in the past season’s UCL, and only thrice in 9 games in the 2016-17 season.
One of the reasons why Suarez has underperformed could be a lack of competition on the bench. Suarez on his worst day could still give a bit of competition to Munir or Paco at their best.
Griezmann was heavily linked to Barcelona and this must have certainly pressurized Suarez, but the deal didn’t go through. Malcom is a winger, but could certainly play as a striker.
Munir has improved significantly at Deportivo Alaves and looks all set to stay, with Paco looking for a way out. However, this is not going to solve the Suarez conundrum.
The board might still look to bring in a player like Timo Werner, but since he disappointed at the World Cup, Bartomeu may look at other options. A strong competitor on the bench could make Suarez take things a little more seriously and could get the best out of him.