Barcelona showed a thrilling performance in Champions League and defeated Ajax by 4-0 thanks to another brilliant hat trick by Messi. The whole match was an one-sided affair though Barca could have added one or two more goals if they capitalized every given opportunity. First half of the game was not so exaggerated as both the teams were playing with almost equal possession of the ball while second half brought La Liga champions on the top and again Messi became their star performer scoring another hat trick. This win brought them on the top of Group G with 13 points – a clear three points lead from Celtic. Despite a comprehensive victory, coach Gerardo Martino is not completely satisfied the way his men dominated the game; he somehow also changed the style of play by incorporating long passes while Spanish club is famous for controlling the ball by short passes.
Even a large section of fans is also not fully convinced with the new adaptation and that is why Martino seems to be justifying his stand on the show. He said after the match, “Barcelona have recently reached footballing excellence so the fans are more demanding. I understand that they did not like the first half, that they were not satisfied. But they should be fairly satisfied with the second half. It was not a brilliant match but we put in a strong performance. Our second half was better than our first. We controlled the game better, we pressed well and we defended well. But, yes, it is a little worrying that the team can get ‘broken’ at times.”
Many experts are also skeptical if new changes will do better in a long run, coz Barca has long been ruling the soccer world with its well-known playing approach and any change to its long running tradition can harm its overall record. He said about his new approach, “I do not know how many times I have said this, but we are not trying to change the team’s style of play. I saw Rafa Marquez making long passes five years ago. It does not mean we are changing the style if we add alternatives to our play.”
His words were copied by Cesc Fabregas who also added, “There are nuances that we have to improve. We are working well and the results are good. We all strive for excellence. I think it will come soon. If we can counter-attack it is worth giving it a try. We are training to improve a couple of things. We need to read the games the way the boss wants us to.”