Three talking points as Barcelona lose 1-2 to Las Palmas in La Liga | OneFootball

FC Barcelona have all but surrendered their excellent start to the La Liga campaign with three bad performances back-to-back. Hansi Flick’s team looks far off from the dominant unit that conquered Bayern Munich and Real Madrid in the space of a week.

After a flying start, this has been a timely reminder that Barcelona need to remain grounded. Players don’t seem to be playing with the same intensity level that they started the season with and fatigue already seems to have creeped in.

Not many players came out from the Las Palmas game smelling like a rose and with the exception of Raphinha and maybe Pau Cubarsi, no other player could have claimed to have given their all to try and turn the situation around.

With all this in mind, here are three talking points for FC Barcelona as they lose ground in their La Liga title race with a 1-2 loss to Las Palmas at home.

Photo by Eric Alonso/Getty Images

1. Advantage Real Madrid

If Real Madrid win their game in hand, they are set to leapfrog Barcelona to the top of the table. Despite having contrasting starts to the season, the last three games have leveled the playing field, and if Barcelona don’t step up now, when will they?

All Los Blancos usually need is a whiff of room back into the mix to run away with it and Barcelona have ceded their position. Carlo Ancelotti’s men will be keen to make the most of it and try and drive the Catalan club further into the ground.

With games coming thick and fast, Hansi Flick doesn’t have much time left to change the narrative. The German coach needs to bring a response out of his players and it has to start with the trip to Mallorca midweek.

Real Madrid seem to be getting better with every passing week and Barcelona is the opposite. Let’s hope the club realizes this and starts showcasing the kind of football they were playing back in October.

2. A November to forget

If October was a month for the ages in Barcelona, November was the total opposite. October and November were polar opposites of one another and fans will be hoping that December is more the former than the latter.

Barcelona looked unbeaten in October. They were so good in terms of performance and it was arguably the peak of Hansi Flick’s team in their short stint so far. However, things haven’t panned out the same way.

Flick has not been helped by injury issues to key players like Lamine Yamal without whom Barcelona seem to have no clue how to win. It is not good to have all your dependence pinned on a 17-year-old performing week in and week out.

Cules will be hoping that December is a month to remember as things go forward. Let’s wait and see how things play out.

3. What is happening to Jules Kounde?

Jules Kounde hit new heights as a right-back in the game against Red Star Belgrade providing three assists on the night. Ever since that night though, it has been all downhill for the talented Frenchman who seems to be struggling for form.

It is a drastic drop-off from the incredible level he was showing and one wonders what exactly has changed. The most obvious answer to this would be his lack of influence on the right wing in the absence of Lamine Yamal.

With the Spanish teenager now returning, one would hope that so would Kounde’s form. He needs to start playing better and combining better and cut out the lapses in defense that we have seen recently. It is imperative for the team that he plays well.

Having been taken off at around the hour mark last night, one would assume that Kounde will be keen to showcase his quality against Mallorca midweek. Let’s wait and see how things play out for the Frenchman going forward.