Barcelona's loss to Real Madrid on Tuesday has gotten great deal of critics talking about whether the team may be in need of a makeover. Barcelona has now lost twice in three games (including a 2-0 defeat to AC Milan in the Champions League) and it seems that the impending bout with Real Madrid on Saturday is an essential test for the team.
If Barcelona loses on Saturday it would still hold a 13 point lead over Madrid in the Spanish league standings, but Madrid would have a four game unbeaten streak in Clasicos and Barcelona's reputation as the top team in Europe would drop considerably. If Barcelona is unable to contain Madrid, the team's inevitable Spanish league title would come into question. After all, most pundits would state that Barcelona won its title not because it was the best team, but because Madrid played poorly in the first half.
Andres Iniesta spoke out a few days ago about the team needing to build itself back up and ignore the questions about its system and future. But, the performances are there for all to see. Barcelona may be dominating the Spanish league, yet the team's supremacy will only be judged by its performance against top competition. The Champions League group stage was hardly a cakewalk for Blaugrana. The team overcame a 2-1 deficit in its first match against Spartak Moscow thanks to the heroics of Lionel Messi and was out chanced by Benfica in the second tilt. Little needs to be said about the two matches against Celtic in which Barcelona barely squeezed out a win and then lost 2-1 (the team trailed 2-0 at one point). When Barça drew a matchup against Milan, most pundits assumed that Milan would not even score across two legs; the Italian club proved the entire world wrong with a textbook performance on how to take down Barcelona. The Milan match suggested that Barcelona's aging core of players may not be able to keep up with speedy counter attacks of aggressive clubs and the Madrid game only verified this assumption.
The tilt on Saturday between Madrid and Barcelona may not have major ramifications in the standings of the Spanish league, but it will say a great deal about Barcelona's standings in world soccer. This could be the most important game of the season for Lionel Messi and company. Arguements will be made for the second leg of the Champions League, but a loss to its most hated rivals for the second time in a week would put its standings in world soccer into serious doubt.
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