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Showing posts from November, 2020

Champions League 2020

  Gerard Pique's injury on Saturday against Atletico Madrid means Barcelona have precisely one healthy center back heading into Tuesday's match against Dynamo Kiev. So, everybody wish good luck to French defender Clement Lenglet. Even with a mostly healthy, or at least healthier, team, Barcelona still haven't been strong in defense this season. They're conceding 1.13 goals per match in La Liga, which ties them for an exceedingly average 10th in the domestic league. The fancier numbers don't pay a much rosier picture. Ronald Koeman's team is conceding chances worth 1.21 expected goals on average per match, which is only the eighth-best total in the league. Barcelona's struggles have yet to catch up with them in the Champions League where they've conceded only two goals in the opening three matches. Only the Premier League trio of Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City have conceded fewer. But, the underlying numbers tell a different stories. The Catalan