FC Barcelona find themselves on the precipice of having to go another season where they are unable to reciprocate the once legendary, yet paradoxically regular, numbers that the likes of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, and Neymar Jr once produced for the Catalans.
Now, in the current climate of this FC Barcelona side, while they still possess great goal scorers within the team, similar numbers are not being produced by the players that fans had once gotten accustomed to.
This has been highlighted in particular by Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo in a recent report, where they compare the 30 league goals scored last season between current Barcelona talisman Robert Lewandowski (23) and Raphinha (7) to the 65 scored in 2014/2015 between Lionel Messi (43) and Neymar Jr (22).
Staggering numbers in their own right, and while quite difficult to exactly reciprocate given the legendary quality of both players back then, Xavi Hernandez continues to demand at Barcelona, still, a top European club, that his scorers should still at least produce numbers close to the ones managed in 2014/2015 campaign.
Another key detail that the report assessed is the lack of free-kick goals and how detrimental they have been to the progression of the Catalan club in recent seasons.
The last recorded free-kick goal scored by FC Barcelona was in May of 2021, and it was scored by, unsurprisingly, Lionel Messi himself against Valencia at the Mestalla. Noting the essence and necessity of having dead-ball specialists, even that last free-kick goal by Messi resulted in Barcelona clinching a 3-2 victory over Valencia.
Many players have since tried to break this ongoing curse of sorts at the club. Gerard Pique, Robert Lewandowski, Jordi Alba, Ferran Torres, Ansu Fati, and Raphinha among others have all given it a shot to no avail.
Xavi Hernandez continues to emphasize the need for a set piece specialist to step up within the team, a role that the manager himself once used to be notable for in his playing days.
In the short term, players like Raphinha and Lewandowski can obviously work on their dead-ball practice, along with the guidance of Xavi himself, to produce better results from their set pieces in the upcoming season.
As for the matter of goals, there is some definite skepticism within the club at the moment. Xavi himself is concerned with the need to sell assets, with most of the valuable ones that are out of favor being forwards.
The manager is also taking into account the uncertainty as to when Vitor Roque will end up arriving. A winter arrival would be ideal, but the Barcelona finances would need to be in accordance with that demand and haste.
As it stands, Barcelona could look to reinforce tactics and enhance training practices to better curb the two specialists that Xavi needs in terms of both set piece taking as well as additional firepower in front of the goal.
