photo credit: Spiros2004
Barcelona is having the typical sophomore slump kind of season after accomplishing so much last year. The first ever Spanish treble winners have struggled to find their form this season in tournament play and the results in the book have not been as invincible as the club hoped they would be heading into the year. The defending champs already lost in the Copa del Rey thanks to a two match aggregate victory by Sevilla. Now the club has the oppurtunity to drop two aggregate losses this season in tournament play if they don’t show up and beat VfB Stuttgart today.
The score is 1-1 heading into the second match and the advantage is clearly in Barca’s favor with home field advantage, but their inability to score multiple goals in the first match doesn’t bode to well for their title hopes. Of course many strong opponents have already been bounced from the event so a narrow victory will do just fine for Barcelona. But today the real competition will begin for the world’s top team.
In La Liga the club has failed to pull away from Real Madrid and has even scored less goals this season. In tournament play they have kept things interesting and even disappointed at times. So a strong UEFA Champions League performance is the only hope for the club keeping the title as world’s best.
The stage is set, the spotlight is shining, the fans are filling in, and the players are marching on the pitch.
Is Barca ready to defend their title?
I picked them to win 6-1 before the series began and I guess it is safe to say that I was a little bit ambitious on Barca’s side. None the less lets see a 5-0 victory today Barca just so that I don’t look like a fool.