Barcelona had made a very good start to the season, and at the time of writing were in the top 3 favourites to win this seasons Champions League at most major sportsbooks and online casino sites. However, recent back-to-back defeats to Paris Saint-Germain and Sevilla have thrown them off-course. Prior to those, the Catalans had been unbeaten in La Liga and the Champions League, having dropped points in only one match (1-1 vs Rayo Vallecano).

Much has been made of Barcelona’s performances against PSG and Sevilla, with the reaction to the former having centred on Hansi Flick’s supposed “stubborn approach” to continuing with a high-line, which contributed to the reigning European champions’ late winner at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys. The German has been criticised for this, but is this justified? Not in the eyes of Wojciech Szczesny, who played both matches in the absence of starting goalkeeper Joan Garcia.

“I don’t think we have to worry, only that if we want to have a season like last or better, if we don’t give 100% in every game and we are focused, what happened to us in Seville could happen again. But we have a very intelligent group and everyone has understood it: we have to work, recover and relax.

“I think we tested last season what our system can offer us. Yes it’s risky, but when we play at our highest level, there aren’t many teams that can compete with us, but we have to be at our highest level. That’s why, although losing the game against Sevilla is painful, it’s a good lesson because, because you have to understand that it can become embarrassing if you don’t do things right.

“So I don’t think that’s the problem. I would never criticise the system, but I would criticise the way we play in that system in a given game. And those 2 games this season where we didn’t do well enough. One was against Rayo and the other in Seville, it’s a clear message that we have to do better. The system is not a problem. It’s usually how you act within the system.”

Barcelona are also dealing with injury problems

It must also be remembered that as well as Garcia, Barcelona were without multiple starters for the matches against PSG and Sevilla. Raphinha and Fermin Lopez missed both, Lamine Yamal was absent at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan, while Alejandro Balde was not deemed fit enough to start either game as he is still recovery from his own injury issue.

All five players will return to action in the coming weeks, with Garcia being the last – it is hoped that he can return for El Clasico, but Barcelona cannot guarantee that he will receive the medical green light in time to feature against Real Madrid. Once they are back, the Catalans will expect their form to improve.

We have been here before with Barcelona

Flick’s side have had poor patches for form before, notably last season when they won just three times in nine matches between November and December. On that occasion, they fell to defeat against Real Sociedad (away), Las Palmas (home), Leganes (home) and Atletico Madrid (home), as well as drawing against Celta Vigo and Real Betis (both away).

On that occasion, there was a similar reaction towards Barcelona, who had looked unstoppable prior to that spell. But in response, they went on an unbeaten run that lasted from January to April, with 20 wins and four draws in 24 matches across all competitions – and even then, the defeat that ended this (3-1 vs Borussia Dortmund) was meaningless in the grand scheme of things, as they still won that Champions League tie on aggregate (5-3).

There is no reason for Barcelona fans to panic – yet

So, there is basis for Barcelona bouncing back from poor spells of form, and with the likes of Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and Garcia returning soon from injury, there is every chance that they can start on another long run of form when Girona arrive at the Estadi Olimpic after the international break.

That is a match that Barcelona will expect to win even without the injuries, but as was shown last season, they can struggle at home to teams near the bottom of the La Liga table – two of those defeats were to teams (Las Palmas and Leganes) that ended up succumbing to relegation in May.

Even if Barcelona were to lose against Girona/Olympiacos and to Real Madrid in El Clasico, there would be no reason for panic stations. Flick has shown that he is very capable of correcting things during his time in Catalonia, and he will fancy himself to address his side’s problems in the coming weeks, even if it does not happen right away.

It will be interesting to see how Barcelona perform in the first few weeks after the October international break, during which they have a somewhat favourable run of fixtures (outside of the trip to the Santiago Bernabeu).