A Barca on a good run, but without football

Ronald Koeman wants signings and said it again before the Elche game. “If we want more, we have to improve things, we’re lacking players,” said the coach. Aka, this Barca can do what it can do. Which is win a few games. Play nice football sometimes. Lets us get excited about Pedri. Keep admiring Messi. Discover the authentic De Jong. Or to get thrilled by the recovering Dembele. But unfortunately with all that, it’s not enough to win titles. We could see in the Super Cup. And we are seeing it in La Liga, where Atletico have a stratospheric advantage.

It’s true that Barca have accelerated with four wins in a row, all away from home too, after beating Elche.

With a centre-back, Eric Garcia, and a forward, Depay, everything would be easier. But there’s no money. Zero euros for arrivals. So Koeman will have to live with what he’s got, although he doesn’t like it.

Yesterday, without Messi, Barca beat Elche with De Jong and Riqui Puig on target. It was an ugly game but it brought a vital win. There was no footballing spectacle but De Jong, increasingly more attacking and accurate, and a great Ter Stegen save earned the points. With the weaknesses this team has we can’t expect more. The only objective is to keep waiting for better times with a new president.

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