Barcelona’s Forward Line-up Has Weaknesses, says Real Sociedad’s Carlos Vela

Real Sociedad were able to stun opposition Barcelona by getting a 1-1 draw at home.

It was a game in which the opposition were able to take advantage of the misfortunes suffered by Barcelona of late. The club has been less than convincing in the league title race, as manager Luis Enrique has opted for different tactics this season. Barcelona have all been about MSN – the combination of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, and Neymar – but, strangely, Real Sociedad worked on exploiting the weaknesses of this combination, according to striker Carlos Vela.

Willian José with the opening goal in the 53rd minute before Lionel Messi equalised six minutes later. However, these were the only goals in the game as Barcelona were unable to convert the dominance in terms of possession into chances and goals. Vela says that even though Barcelona are extremely strong going forward and when having the ball, they have a lot of weaknesses when they do not have possession largely because the MSN do not prefer tracking back.

As a result, Real Sociedad were able to get a crucial goal that provided them with something to cling on. There were enough chances for Real Sociedad to even win the game had they been more clinical.

“They, with the ball, are the best team in the world, but when they don’t have it you can do them damage. The guys upfront [Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, and Neymar] are used to working less than the rest and we tried to take advantage,” said Vela after the game. The Real Sociedad outfit have been a breath of fresh air in the league season, as they have been able to take advantage of Atletico Madrid’s struggles to move into contention for the top three places. Barcelona only recently were involved in a draw against Malaga in which they were heavily frustrated.