Barcelona’s disappointing direct free-kick record post Lionel Messi’s departure

The appointment of Xavi Hernandez has been a boon for FC Barcelona in multiple aspects, with the club notably yet to lose an away game in La Liga under the Spaniard.

However, there are certain areas where Barça still have room for improvement. One such aspect could be the team’s lack of accuracy from free-kicks, especially after the departure of a certain Lionel Messi.

While Xavi never had the fortune of managing the Argentine international during his time at Barça, Messi, to this day, continues to dominate the free-kick numbers even a year after his departure.

Meanwhile, Barcelona have not been able to score from a direct free-kick for 15 months reports SPORT, with the last goal being scored by Messi himself. It was the Argentine’s 50th goal from a direct free-kick, which was scored against Valencia in early May 2021.

Since his exit, a great many players have tried their luck with direct free-kicks for Barcelona, but none of them have quite managed to find the back of the net.

This season, for example, the Blaugrana have had four free-kick scenarios from the edge of the box. Three of them have been attempted by former Leeds United star Raphinha while the other one was attempted by Ansu Fati.

Neither of them was able to find the back of the net, including Raphinha, who was considered a long-range expert, especially from set-piece situations.

However, given their technical astute nature, players such as Raphinha and Fati are capable of starting to exert their dominance in the Barcelona frontline. And there is hope that the situation may soon improve and that the Catalans could once again pose a threat from set-pieces.

Improving on that aspect could go a long way in helping Barcelona appear more efficient in front of goal, especially given the fact that breaking down defences has been one of the major problems for the club under Xavi’s leadership at times.