Barcelona believe they have identified key issues affecting Alejandro Balde’s performances | OneFootball

Barcelona got a crucial victory in the Champions League on Tuesday against Porto, and in no small part, due to the excellent performance of Joao Cancelo.  On the flipside of that equation was Alejandro Balde, who dropped to the bench in order to move Cancelo to the left side.

Balde has not enjoyed the best start to the season, losing his place not only in the Blaugrana side after a series of bland performances, but also in the Spain squad. As per Catalunya Radio, via Sport, Barcelona are concerned by his drop from last season, but are convinced that as a youngster (20 years of age), they can coach out some of his bigger issues.

The two that stand out are both related to the mental side. Firstly, Barcelona believe that Balde is not naturally the most competitive in terms of his personality, and does not always get the best out of himself on the pitch as a result. Along a similar line, they also feel he struggles to maintain his focus for 90 minutes, which can obviously bring problems defensively.

Whether this is a permanent flaw or not, it was not noticed last season, which suggests that either Balde can work out a way past it, or Barcelona can coach around it. In addition, at the age of 20, a 15 months on from his initial breakthrough into the side, it is only natural his form suffers a dip at some point.