MARCA.COM
There remains a sizeable chink in the formidable Barcelona armour: the defence. Against Mallorca, a match that had looked like a walk in the park, with a 3-0 lead going into the break, was turned upside down as the hosts hit back twice in four minutes to make it a nervy affair for the league leaders.
After a Mascherano lapse gifted Pereira the first Mallorca goal, Busquets handled in the area to hand Víctor the opportunity to further reduce the arrears from the spot. To add insult to injury, the midfielder was cautioned for the incident, a fifth booking of the season that rules him out of next week's clash with Zaragoza.
Barça's defensive stats are cause for concern. Today's result included, the club has now conceded 23 goals in its 18 competitive fixtures this season, almost double the tally this time last year, when it had given up just 12 goals.
The Catalan outfit's 11 league games have yielded 14 goals against and, in all competitions, six different sides have pierced Barça's leaky backline twice or more – Real Madrid, Spartak, Sevilla, Deportivo, Celtic and Mallorca.
There can be no doubt that injuries, which have decimated the rearguard, have played a major role in this generosity at the back. The defence is gradually getting back to full strength, however.
The return of Piqué to the starting line-up against Mallorca – 56 days after he started against Spartak in the game in which he picked up his injury – will have come as a major boost, while Puyol is back in full training and should be fit to face Zaragoza.
There remains a sizeable chink in the formidable Barcelona armour: the defence. Against Mallorca, a match that had looked like a walk in the park, with a 3-0 lead going into the break, was turned upside down as the hosts hit back twice in four minutes to make it a nervy affair for the league leaders.
Barça's defensive stats are cause for concern. Today's result included, the club has now conceded 23 goals in its 18 competitive fixtures this season, almost double the tally this time last year, when it had given up just 12 goals.
The Catalan outfit's 11 league games have yielded 14 goals against and, in all competitions, six different sides have pierced Barça's leaky backline twice or more – Real Madrid, Spartak, Sevilla, Deportivo, Celtic and Mallorca.
There can be no doubt that injuries, which have decimated the rearguard, have played a major role in this generosity at the back. The defence is gradually getting back to full strength, however.
The return of Piqué to the starting line-up against Mallorca – 56 days after he started against Spartak in the game in which he picked up his injury – will have come as a major boost, while Puyol is back in full training and should be fit to face Zaragoza.
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