Barcelona show attacking prowess through diversity

With Francisco Trincao’s goal against Real Betis over the weekend, Barcelona now have 16 different goalscorers this season. The Catalans had a rocky start to the season, but have been firing on all cylinders since the new year. With their star studded attack, goals are to be expected, but the midfielders and defenders have chipped in with vital strikes as well. The source of goals is no longer limited to the frontline, which is a highly encouraging sign.

Against Betis, Lionel Messi broke the record for fastest goal as a substitute in La Liga history as he netted the equaliser just 136 seconds after coming onto the pitch. In the 87th minute, Trincao scored his first Barcelona goal with a superb curling shot to grab all the points for Barcelona. While some players have naturally scored a lot more than the others, the Blaugrana now seem to have a much hungrier set of players, any one of which can pop up with a goal when necessary.

Trincao now joins a huge list of players who have all scored at least once for the club this season. The expected names on the list are of course Messi- the top scorer, accompanied by his attacking colleagues Antoine Griezmann, Ousmane Dembele and Martin Braithwaite. There has been no shortage of goals from midfield either, with Phillippe Coutinho, Riqui Puig, Pedri and Frenkie De Jong all managing to score. De Jong’s new advanced role in midfield has been instrumental to his scoring form.

The variety doesn’t end there as the backline have also chipped in with the occasional goal. Ronald Araujo, Clement Lenglet, Sergi Roberto, Sergino Dest and of course the ever-attacking Jordi Alba have all managed to get on the scoresheet as well. Over the past few years, Barcelona’s dependence on Messi as a source of goals was worryingly prominent. However, under Ronald Koeman, the goal threat can lie anywhere on the pitch, which is vital to collective success.