**Barcelona secure a strong win against Eintracht Frankfurt 💙❤️⚽, but their defensive weaknesses remain a major concern under the Champions League spotlight ⭐. Get the full match analysis, key moments, and expert breakdown!**
Barcelona's return to the Camp Nou for Champions League play for the first time in more than three years was almost spoiled by Eintracht Frankfurt in a 2-1 victory on Wednesday. A second-half brace from Jules Kounde helped Barcelona overturn a deficit and win at home, but it's also a deficit that they never should've been in, as despite having ambitions to win this competition, the defense hasn't been able to hold up, while the attack hasn't hit the highs of last season either.
Previously, when a team went to the Camp Nou, it felt like a challenge that they wouldn't be able to overcome, but when players are speaking out about how they can study the offside trap, and it doesn't change and a team who allowed six goals in their last match can mark Robert Lewandowski out of a match, that mystique is gone.
There are a few reasons for that, as one is the offside trap and how, if players can stay in line or play around it, Barcelona don't have a true defensive stopper to play enforcer when a counter is getting out of hand, but their play style only works when their entire attacking band is in sync.
On Tuesday, it wasn't as Lewandowski only took 19 touches during the entire match, the fewest of any Barcelona starter despite playing 66 minutes. The 37-year-old took two shots, not putting any on target, and he has now failed to score or assist a goal in Champions League play despite playing in five matches. The lone match that Lewandowski didn't feature in was Barcelona's 6-1 victory over Olympiacos, which accounts for almost half of their 14 goals scored during the league phase.
Ferran Torres and Marcus Rashford have also taken turns leading the line, creating a more mobile attack, and it's something Hansi Flick will have to think about as he sets up his team moving forward. Barcelona are set to make it through the league phase as they sit 14th after six matches. They could fall to 20th, but with Slavia Prague and Copenhagen as their remaining teams, they should be comfortably through.
The issue is that when Barcelona are expected to win the Champions League after making it to the semifinals last season, after six matches, they've scored 14 goals and allowed 11 goals. Facing top teams in UCL such as Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea, Barcelona have failed to get results there, showing the cracks in Flick's tactics when they can't control a game from start to finish. They've struggled with big teams and even ones they'd be expected to top easily.
Frankfurt had a chance of going in that direction, but Marcus Rashford and Kounde had to save them from allowing one of the easiest counters that you'll see. Nathaniel Brown played a ball that the Barcelona defenders couldn't get to, and Ansgar Knauff slotted it home.
Frankfurt have been far from defensive stalwarts as of late, which is where concern sinks in. If Barcelona can't take care of these teams with ease, how can they expect to push past teams in the knockout phase? It's easier to change the attacking personnel than it is to sign defenders, so this may be the time to begin looking into what life may be without Lewandowski leading the line.
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.jpg "**🔥 Barcelona Triumph Over Frankfurt! 💙❤️⚽ But Defensive Problems Still Exposed Under UCL Lights ⭐**")
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