Not even Messi could fix Valverde's mess
Looking for a victory at Balaidos with a second string team was barking mad
Ernesto Valverde took many, many risks in picking a team full of second string players against Celta. He left Pique, Sergio Busquets and Andres Iniesta in Barcelona (as well as Rakitic who is recovering from finger surgery) and that was not enough for him, as he also left Sergi Roberto, Samuel Umtiti, Jordi Alba, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez on the bench. That's nine usual starters all out of the line-up. An emphatic rotation the likes of which we have not seen for a long time, with an eye on the Copa del Rey final on Saturday.
Leaving out so many players is risky. It's enormously risky. Especially when the league is in play. It's true that Barça are almost champions. But, before facing Celta they needed seven more points to be champions mathematically. And looking for a victory with a second string team, knowing how badly these players have done throughout the season, was barking mad. If Valverde wanted to win at Balaidos, he chose the most difficult way possible to achieving it.
Leaving with a victory was impossible, and Barça were on the verge of tasting defeat for the first time this season. Because not even Messi, who came on for the final half hour, was able to fix a Barça side that was all over the place. Barça spent nearly all of the game at the mercy of Celta, whose striker Iago Aspas spent most of the game taunting the Blaugrana defence. A draw was, without a doubt, more than Barca deserved. They picked up one more point (they only need six more to be champions) and they preserved their unbeaten record.
Valverde's 'invention' showed once again that Barça do not have the deep squad that a team that aspires to win everything needs. And that, most likely, was the reason why they were knocked out of the Champions League. But that's a different story.....
