It has been almost three years since Lionel Messi left Barcelona and the club are still feeling the after-effects.
Messi’s departure has left many imperfections that is prominent in the Barcelona attack even today. One of them is the club’s effectiveness from free kicks.
Barcelona’s free kick problem
Since the departure of Lionel Messi, Barcelona have had 67 free-kick opportunities, which is quite a significant number.
However, among these 67 freekicks, only two of them have found the back of the net, with both being scored in the ongoing campaign.
Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres have scored these two goals respectively.
Nevertheless, Barcelona’s tally of two goals in 67 free kicks amounts to a success rate of merely 2.9%. This is a shocking number, especially for a club like Barcelona, which consistently plies its trade at the highest level of football.
It is even more shocking in the context of the modern game, where set pieces have become an effective deal to break down well-organised defences.
Even in big matches, a goal from a free kick can make all the difference. But in Barcelona’s case, they miss the X-factor that someone like Messi was consistently bringing to the table.
To put things into perspective, Messi scored a whopping 50 goals from direct free kicks during his time at Barcelona, which is a killer record even for his standards.
As we gear up for a busy summer, Barcelona must imminently find such a player who can make all the difference through direct free kicks.
The club have been linked with a move for Man City wizard Bernardo Silva, but the task could get complicated by Bayern Munich joining the race.
