Five talking points for Barcelona 0-3 Juventus

Barcelona headed into the match in good shape to finish atop Group G, but threw it away with another sad performance that means they finish second.

The 3-0 loss also ends Barça’s undefeated home run in the Champions League. Juve is the first team to win at the Camp Nou in the competition since 2013.

This is undoubtedly a costly result and leaves Barça facing a difficult round of 16 draw on Monday with Bayern, Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Dortmund as potential opponents.

Barca had achieved five consecutive group wins before Tuesday’s loss, which had brought some optimism, but almost everything is gone.

Ronald Koeman criticized his defense for its mistakes against Cádiz on Saturday and then saw his bottom line do even more against Juventus.

Clement Lenglet endured another tough night in his 100th appearance for Barça. He was booked, conceded a one-handed penalty and was retired before he could be sent off.

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Ronald Araujo also awarded a penalty upon his return to action. The Uruguayan was harshly penalized for a tackle to Ronaldo, although both he and Lenglet disappeared when Weston McKennie volleyed in the second of the night from Juventus.

Lenglet’s replacement allowed Samuel Umtiti to make his first appearance since June, which should be good news for Barca, but there are still doubts whether he will be able to stay in shape and challenge Lenglet for a starting position.

Barcelona’s defensive performance will worry Koeman, but so will his failed attack that left blank again. Martin Braithwaite started on the bench, Antoine Griezmann and Pedri struggled, while Francisco Trincao squandered a rare opportunity to impress in the starting eleven.

There were high expectations from the winger when he completed his € 31m signing from Braga over the summer, but he seems to be lacking confidence, seems only interested in getting in and has offered little. It’s only early, of course, but it wasn’t a surprise to see him caught at the break.

Instead, Messi was simply left to try to find a way to get past Gianluigi Buffon in Juventus goal. The Barca captain will likely come under fire for failing to score, on a night in which Ronaldo bagged two penalties, but Messi was undoubtedly once again Barça’s biggest threat.

The injuries of Ansu Fati and Ousmane Dembélé have undoubtedly weakened Barça’s attack and have left Koeman’s side desperately without rhythm and amplitude. They also seem worryingly short on ideas and seem content to just hand it over to Messi and hope it can produce a moment of magic.

Koeman has steadfastly stayed in his 4-2-3-1 formation since taking over, but could he finally consider a change to improve results and performances?

There were rumors before the game that players are beginning to question Koeman’s formation and think that he is too rigid and lacks flexibility.

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Certainly, Barça are predictable and easy to play today, and Koeman’s insistence at 4-2-3-1 saw Barça once again beaten in midfield.

Koeman is known for his stubbornness and probably won’t change his mind easily, but he’s in trouble if players are already losing faith in his system.

Even Andrea Pirlo said after the game that he had prepared his team “to create superiority in the midfield with three against two” because “we knew they had a hard time stopping them by pushing through the middle.”

The only positive from Tuesday’s loss was another brilliant cameo from Riqui Puig’s bench. The 21-year-old replaced Pedri in the 66th minute and offered the energy, dynamism and spark that had been sorely lacking in the Barça midfield. Again.

Barca fans, of course, have long been asking for Puig to play regularly, but he still doesn’t seem to adapt to Koeman’s formation. Koeman’s stubbornness also means it’s hard to see Puig in the starting XI any time soon, no matter how well he plays.

Puig has only played three minutes in La Liga so far in 2020-21, and his other three Champions League appearances. However, could a busy week finally mean more opportunities for the player who offers a bit of hope for the future in the present?