Barcelona are in a state of bother. The club have failed to win a single game in their last three encounters, with their most recent matchup ending in a 1-1 draw with Valencia.
Notwithstanding an unprecedented fall from Real Madrid and Girona, Barcelona are down and out of the race for the league title.
Needless to say, Barcelona’s poor form has led to widespread criticism towards Xavi Hernandez, with the coach now facing pressure to retain his job.
Many have blamed Barcelona’s unreliable defensive line for the poor form, whereas others have pointed fingers at the club’s rather impotent attack. Some from the club have pointed out the injuries Barça have had to deal with this season.
But there is one data that has stood out the most, in the midst of Barcelona’s sporting crisis this season.
Barcelona’s poor conversation rate this season
In Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Ferran Torres and Joao Felix, Barcelona have some of the most gifted attackers in Spanish football.
However, the club have appeared abnormally impotent in front of goal this season. Although some have pointed fingers at the club’s lack of creative firepower, Barça, in reality, have created fair amount of chances this season.
But when it comes to scoring goals, the Catalans have simply failed to make the most of their chances.
Just to put things into perspective, Girona, the surprise package of La Liga, have emerged as the most clinical side in Europe’s top five leagues this season.
Michel’s men have had 215 attempts on goal this term, scoring 38 goals. That is a conversion rate of 17.67%, the highest in Europe’s top five leagues.
Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain are second and third respectively, with a conversation rate of 16.78% and 16.10% respectively.
Even arch-rivals Real Madrid, despite losing their star man Karim Benzema in the summer, have a conversion rate of 12.8%, which is the 17th highest in Europe’s top five leagues.
Barcelona, in this regard, are ranked 45th in Europe. They have had 273 attempts on goal this season, which is higher than Girona, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich and even PSG.
However, when it comes to goals, Barça have found the back of the net only 29 times. That accounts for a conversion rate of just 10.6%, which is lower than clubs such as Eintracht Frankfurt, VfB Stuttgart and AS Roma.
Robert Lewandowski has been the highest goalscorer for Barcelona this season with eight goals. But the Polish international is having an awful season by his standards. He has missed a series of scoring opportunities week in week out and has faced criticism from his supporters.
To make things worse, Barcelona have lacked proper support for Lewandowski. The summer exit of Ousmane Dembele and Ansu Fati, coupled with the injuries of Gavi and earlier, Pedri, doesn’t help either.
Fortunately for Barcelona, they can look forward to the prospect of Vitor Roque, who is set to join the club in the January transfer window.
The Brazilian international will add some much-needed boost to the Barcelona frontline, though the club appear to have bigger plans for him.
