Barcelona 2-0 Real Sociedad. A good looking result against a good side for Tata Martino but the feeling at the full-time whistle for both players and fans was one of discontent after the Catalan side mustered an unbelievable 24 shots on goal and had over 80% of possession during the game.

However, only eight of those 24 shots were on target as Barca failed to take advantage of having an extra man after Inigo Martinez was sent off in controversial style.

It is more worrying than it seems, Barca are not just a team that find it hard to find the back of the net and get stuck in a rut, they simply have moved on in the past and then thumped the next opposition but a change in tactics and slightly in style has seen the likes of Pedro Rodriguez, Alexis Sanchez and Lionel Messi all having to change little aspects of their game.

To be fair, the aforementioned three players do not have bad scoring records this season, even given Messi's long injury but last night Barcelona attempted a silly amount of crosses, over 30 in fact from Brazilian full-back Dani Alves, none of which amounted to a clear cut chance for any of the three.

Something has definately changed, Barca look flat and predictable. No longer do they attack with speed and directness once they get the ball past the halfway line. Jordi Alba for example, one of the best full-backs in the world at going forward does not do such anymore, instead he will check back and find Javier Mascherano or Gerard Pique.

Xavi is criminal of this too as his speed on the ball in generally getting slower but as good as a passer as he is, playing the ball to Alves on the right or Pedro on the left every attack simply becomes to predictable for good defenders, especially those that work as a unit. They simply shuffle over and do so until the attack eventually goes all the way back to Mascherano or Pique.

Sociedad like most teams that visit the Camp Nou, played defensively but Barcelona's usual movement was not there, except once when Alexis broke the defence for the second goal, however fortunate it was.

Perhaps the other big problem from last night is the selection choices with Andres Iniesta once again occupying a place on the subs bench, a decision that saw the 38,000 fans inside the Camp Nou show dislike.

It does seem that Martino is more favourable of Cesc Fabregas in that role and it has left many Barca fans scratching their heads as Xavi, the oldest midfielder in the team, is the man Martino should be resting and looking to replace in the long term, not Iniesta.

Talk has already begun about whether or not Martino will be in charge next season, with the likes of Luis Enrique mentioned but would that not make this whole season for Barca a complete waste.

Was the Argentine coach not brought to Barca, carefully selected infact, to change things round and look to the future. Maybe in the future, fans and even the players like the rotated Iniesta will look back and see this as a tough transition period. If one would have a guess though, it would be that failure to beat Man City in the Champions League would result in both fans and the players discontent with Martino's management.

It has been a tough season so far for Barca off the field, but it seems, and is very evident that it is just about to get even tougher on it.

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About the author
Ben Crump
Periodismo en la UJI