3️⃣ points as Barcelona toil to uninspiring draw against Slavia Prague | OneFootball

Barcelona drew 0-0 with Slavia Prague at the Camp Nou on Tuesday night, in a game they were perhaps fortunate not to lose.

This is what we made of it …

Another Alba injury

Aside from the frustration of a drab home draw against a side they should have beaten, Barça were also dealt a big injury blow.

Jordi Alba exited at half-time of this one with a hamstring problem, as the injuries begin to pile up for him this season.

When he’s fit, he is such a key part of this side and his connection and chemistry with Lionel Messi is vital for this Blaugrana side.

He suffered a hamstring injury in September which sidelined him for the best part of three weeks and the latest setback is another worry.

Last time he went down, Junior Firpo, his long-term replacement who arrived this summer, was also on the treatment table.

Despite the former Betis man now being fit, he doesn’t appear to be flavour of the month with Valverde, as evidenced by his upset at being left out against Levante despite making the trip.

Now could be his time to shine if Alba’s injury is serious … and if he is given the chance.

Messi in the middle

Despite Ousmane Dembélé’s return appearing to signal an opportunity for Antoine Griezmann to star through the centre, that wasn’t the case.

But seniority still seems to rule at the Camp Nou and instead, Lionel Messi was deployed as a false nine, with Griezmann on the left and his fellow Frenchman on the right.

In fact, there were times when he dropped so deep that only the goalkeeper and back four were behind him.

His unpredictability almost broke the game open as the one time he played on the shoulder, it led to fast feet, a typical Messi run and strike which smashed the post.

The less said about his uninspiring accomplices in the wider areas on this occasion, the better.

For the man in the dugout, he’ll really be feeling the heat now as the crowd were less than impressed come full-time.

Props to Prague

In this competition, some pot four teams turn up to venues like the Camp Nou without any intent to make a game of it.

They often leave 90 minutes later with a sub 30% possession rate, having conceded five or six goals and been outclassed throughout.

That was certainly not the case for Slavia, who impressed for the second successive away game this season.

Inter were already given a warning about their threat on matchday one, when they earned a 1-1 draw in Milan that could have been more.

This was arguably an even better display, with the Czechs posing a real threat in the final third and enjoying success with their defensive organisation.

Marc-André ter Stegen made some key stops and Slavia won plenty of admirers among us with their performance.