Setien’s first month at Barça: Problems persist

13th February marked one month of the dismissal of Ernesto Valverde from the FC Barcelona head coach job. Since then, the Blaugranas have been under the reign of 61-year old Quique Setien.

In his first month, Setien has brought in some changes and there are rays of hopes for the fans. But, problems are still at large at the club and if Setien cannot solve them in the remaining months of the season, the Barcelona board might just replace him.

The best thing Setien has done till date is he has brought back Barcelona's control on the pitch. The Catalan side had the much of the ball during Valverde's era too, but without conviction. With Setien, they have their confidence with the ball back.

But one thing Setien's Barcelona have lacked, is the bi-product from large chunks of possession. They have only managed to score 13 goals from seven games, including a 5-0 thrashing of Leganes. Luis Suarez's injury could not have come at a worse possible time and Ousmane Dembele getting injured just added insult to their wounds.

But Barcelona's lack of precision in attack comes from their lack of a creative midfielder in the midfield. They loaned out Carles Alena and none of Sergio Busquets, Frenkie De Jong or Arthur Melo can provide the defence-breaking pass from the midfield.

This results in their skipper Lionel Messi dropping down to midfield to add some innovation. But this also creates a gaping hole in the right-wing and with all this combined, goals have been scarce for the Blaugrana.

Even though this is a big problem for Setien, the biggest one is their leaky defence. Barcelona have conceded seven goals under Setien and many have even labelled their defending as 'comical'. The loaning of Jean-Clair Todibo to Schalke 04 has led to Setien having only three centre-back options in Gerard Pique, Clement Lenglet and Samuel Umtiti. But Umtiti is known for being injury-prone and Pique's form has not been great for quite some time now.

Marc Andre Ter Steegen has been saving the Blaugrana from imminent danger often throughout this season, but he cannot save it all. Setien's biggest headache is surely the defence and he must solve it to keep his dream job.

Setien must receive some praise for his training sessions since joining. Valverde himself had said that he does not prefer physical training and the training sessions were for that, were lax. But Setien has revamped the training schedule and has ensured that the players are always on the go.

Five wins and two defeats - this is till date Setien's record with Barcelona. One of those defeats meant Barcelona were knocked out of the Copa Del Rey, but that is not Barcelona's main focus this season.

The Blaugranas are aiming for the Champions League, which they have not won for four seasons. And to win it, Setien must solve the problems in his side. If not, there is a big chance of him not being in the Barcelona dugout the next season.