While the FC Barcelona team has not been at its best as a whole this season, one player who has been particularly well below his standards is the defender, Jules Kounde.
The Frenchman had a very good first season with Barcelona last term when he was a part of the watertight backline which allowed the team to win the league title, along with Christensen, Araujo, and Balde.
However, this season, Kounde has struggled for form, despite having been moved to the centre of the defence initially, in accordance with his specific demands from Xavi.
But his poor performances have not discouraged Kounde from keeping trying to get back to his best. As SPORT has noted, this is clear from his social media activity, as the defender shared pictures of him training on his own.
Meanwhile, Barcelona have also gotten better in terms of defense for the last few fixtures. After conceding five goals in the game against Villarreal, the Catalans have allowed only one goal past Inaki Pena in their last two games, which is a visible improvement for Xavi’s team.
Pau Cubarsi has been a revelation in these games, as he has seamlessly adapted to the demands of the first division football, and helped the team during a very difficult period, as several first-team defenders, Balde, Inigo Martinez, and Marcos Alonso were all unavailable, leaving the Blaugranes very thin in the defense.
Now, as Kounde is working to get back to his best as well, Barcelona can look forward to the upcoming matches with the hope that the team will not be giving away as many goals as it has up to this point in the season.
In terms of goals conceded, Barcelona rank tenth in the league with thirty goals scored against them. While scoring 47 for themselves has allowed the Catalans to remain in the Champions League spots, Xavi will have to ensure the team does not keep conceding at such a high rate to have any realistic chance of winning La Liga or the Champions League.
