Champions League déjà vu dooms Barcelona in defeat to Monaco

Marc Andre ter Stegen didn’t get the memo.

Barcelona is trying to evolve, and get away from careless and risky plays out of the back for the sake of it.

He’s not the only one to blame for the surprising 2-1 defeat to Monaco on the opening night of a new European campaign.

The energy was off from the get-go.

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Hansi Flick’s Barcelona has been good so far because they prioritize high intensity pressing and counter pressing. It hasn’t been about possession and building from the back as a form of attack.

Just as it was when Barcelona was eliminated against PSG, it was madness that led to self-defeat. It was Ronald Araujo then, and Ter Stegen this time.

And it’s a shame, because the German is the captain now, and should be leading by example, and setting his teammates up for success, rather than putting them in a hole.

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Everyone makes mistakes, but the Blaugrana goalkeeper needs to raise his hand, take responsibility, so the team can put the loss behind them, regroup, and get back on track in order to defend their unbeaten La Liga record.

There was another interesting comparison between this one and the last Champions League game. Xavi was criticized for how he managed the substitution, when Araujo went off. In this one we got a glimpse of Flick’s managerial mind.

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Playing with 10 men, there were no substitutions until the 78th minute.

Granted, the team was able to enter halftime with the game tied, after Lamine Yamal had a wonder goal of an equalizer against the run of play.

That was a time for the German manager to take stock of his team.

I think many of us will agree that Robert Lewandowski had no place on that field given the circumstances.

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I would have much rather seen Ferran Torres, Pau Víctor, or any other person in a Blaugrana shirt with the capacity to run.

It’s sad to see, but the Polish international really struggles to get around the field. He made exactly zero helpful contributions to the team in his 90 minutes on the field. In fact, he made it feel like the team was playing with nine men.

We should watch this space. Flick needs to be realistic about what Lewandowski can give, and when he can best be utilized. This wasn’t it.

Yes, there are a lot of things in this match that I would disagree with from an in game management point of view.

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Lewandowski is one.

Not making substitutions is another, especially seeing how exhausted his players were. But for tactical reasons, they were also necessary.

And yet there’s something about the Flick ethos that I appreciate.

He gave his players confidence. He told them to keep attacking. And they did get an unlikely equalizer while down a man.

But certain moments call for pragmatism. I would have appreciated seeing it to start the second half.

The most important thing to remember though, is that this team didn’t look at their best from the first whistle.

When you don’t show up prepared, you’re more likely to make mistakes.

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This Barcelona team still has work to do to get their new identity and tactical approach hard wired.

And it will be a hard task considering the continuation of injuries.

Perhaps this was that first stumble that we’ve talked about before.

How will the team react? How should we react as fans?

For now, with grace and patience.

These players and this coach have earned that much.

They’ve been knocked down. Their response will show us what they’re made of.