Atletico de Madrid’s surge
Diego Simeone’s side has been a major pain for both Real Madrid and Barcelona in the past few seasons, and it seems like the pressure of beating these guys has gotten into the Blaugrana’s heads, as they only had to compete with Los Blancos during several seasons, but have now found more competition for the trophy.
On top of that, Cholo’s team has been getting stronger every year and it’s getting harder and harder to beat, and they’ve been stealing really valuable points from Luis Enrique’s side.
The substitute’s poor performance
Besides that outstanding starting XI, Barcelona hasn’t been getting any help from their substitutes, and even if they’re all amazingly talented players, the lack of playing time has made it very difficult for them to actually make an impact when they’re needed, as they’re used to play when Barcelona’s comfortably leading the score of the game.
Barcelona has more names than game, on the bench, and if they want to dominate once again in a very competitive and long tournament, they’re going to need a lot more from those guys.