Barcelona 'a million miles away from being a good team' after shock Monaco Champions League defeat - Steve McManaman
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ByEurosport
Published 19/09/2024 at 22:47 GMT
Steve McManaman was left unimpressed after Barcelona lost 2-1 to Monaco in their first Champions League tie of the new season. The former Real Madrid man pointed to the injury problems facing Hansi Flick, as well as the lack of squad depth. McManaman suggested that there may also be problems with the tactics from the new manager, who replaced Xavi Hernandez in the summer.
Hansi Flick.
Image credit: Getty Images
Barcelona are "a million miles away from being a good team" after they suffered a 2-1 defeat at Monaco in the Champions League on Thursday evening, according to Steve McManaman.
The match started badly for Hansi Flick’s side when goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen sold Eric Garcia short, prompting the defender to commit a professional foul after just 10 minutes, which was met with a red card.
Monaco went ahead shortly after, and while Yamine Lamal produced an excellent equaliser on 28 minutes, a second-half pass from Vanderson opened up Barcelona once again as George Ilenikhena scored a winner.
Flick was appointed in the summer to replace Xavi Hernandez after the Barca legend failed to repeat his first season success, and with the club beset by serious injury problems already, former Real Madrid winger McManaman was alarmed by the performance.
“Barcelona threw it away today,” he told TNT Sports.
“They made mistake after mistake after mistake. Whether that's inexperience or Hansi Flick's instructions, they're going to have to deal with it because they're a million miles away from being a good team from what we saw today.”
The nature of some of the injuries, such as to Gavi and Frenkie de Jong, worry McManaman because of the open-ended nature of their predicted returns.
He continued: “Yes, they've got the injuries, they speak for themselves, and they need them back as soon as, but Gavi won't be back anytime soon.
“I don't know how bad Frenkie de Jong is, but they can't get him right. Dani Olmo should be back soon. They can't rely on that because they're going to be playing better teams now.
"They're behind the eight-ball already, losing tonight.”
Barcelona defeated local rivals Girona 4-1 on the weekend, but McManaman suggested that their domestic form was papering over cracks.
“It's a false dawn because of their La Liga start,” he said. “If you look at the teams that they've faced, they shouldn't be the sixth-best team in Europe.
"They're not, when you look at the starting XI that they've had to put out, and more importantly, the bench today.
“They've got nowhere near [as much] firepower as 10 teams across Europe.”
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