Thierry Henry has expressed his frustration and concern over Barcelona’s defensive struggles, admitting it “pains” him to say the club cannot win the Champions League with their current backline.
The legendary French forward made these comments after Barcelona’s disappointing 3-3 draw against Club Brugge in the Champions League on Wednesday, where the Catalans were forced to come from behind three times.
This result comes on the heels of Barcelona’s 2-1 defeat to European champions Paris Saint-Germain in their previous European outing. Despite showing resilience in attack, Barcelona’s defense continues to be a major issue, having conceded seven goals in their first four Champions League matches this season alone.
The team has failed to keep a clean sheet since their 3-0 victory over Getafe in La Liga back in September, leaving their defensive vulnerabilities on full display.
Barcelona are currently sitting 11th in the Champions League table, but they still have a chance to secure an automatic qualification spot for the round of 16, with upcoming fixtures against Chelsea, Eintracht Frankfurt, Slavia Prague, and Copenhagen. However, Henry is adamant that for Barcelona to compete for Europe’s top prize, they need to address their defensive frailties immediately.
Speaking on CBS Sports, Henry stated: “The coordination [in defense] is so bad. You can’t win the Champions League like this, it’s very difficult.
It’s this game [against Club Brugge], it’s against Paris Saint-Germain, last year it was against Benfica, then it was the Clasico, then it was Inter. As we all know, I played for Arsenal, I played for Juventus, I won a lot of stuff at Barcelona… for me to say that, it pains me. I don’t want to talk about my old club like that, but you have to call a spade a spade.”
Henry added, “You can’t carry on defending like this, hoping to score three or four goals every time. You can’t be the team that relies on outscoring everyone. Not now, not in the modern era of football. You can’t defend like that.”
Barcelona’s defensive struggles have been a recurring issue. Last season, the Catalans were eliminated in the Champions League semi-finals by Inter Milan in a dramatic two-legged tie that ended 7-6 to the Italian side.
Despite winning the domestic double in coach Flick’s debut campaign, Barcelona conceded 24 goals in their 14 Champions League games, and they shipped more than a goal per game in La Liga.
While Barcelona’s head coach Flick has defended his approach, emphasizing that the team wants to play to their “DNA” and not rely on defensive blocks and counter-attacks to win 1-0, Henry’s criticism highlights the growing concern over the club’s ability to compete for top European honors if their defensive issues remain unaddressed.
As Barcelona looks to recover from a rocky start in both domestic and European competitions, the pressure is mounting on Flick and his squad to fix their leaky defense before they can think about reclaiming their place among Europe’s elite.
