Barca in need of another Super Cup boost in Riyadh after one of most turbulent periods in club’s history

It was back on January 12, 2022, in Saudi Arabia when Barcelona fans first saw promise in a Xavi Hernandez side.

The Catalans lost the game, a Clasico against Real Madrid, but the performance was Barcelona’s best of what had been a troubled season.

Lionel Messi had departed at its start, Antoine Griezmann, too. Sergio Aguero had to retire after barely playing. After a trio of 3-0 defeats, Barcelona failed to progress from their Champions League group for the first time since 2003, and had been as low as ninth in the league by October, prompting the dismissal of Ronald Koeman and the arrival of Xavi.

In Riyadh, a Barcelona side featuring a youthful forward line twice came from behind to make it 2-2 after 90 minutes, before Fede Valverde grabbed Madrid’s winner.

It barely mattered. Barca had been the better side and proved they could go toe-to toe with the runaway La Liga winners Madrid again.

Two months later, Barcelona went to the Bernabeu and won 4-0. A season later, they were Spanish champions once more. However, the path has been far from smooth since, at a time when financial problems and stadium redevelopment have combined for one of the most turbulent periods in Barcelona’s history.

This season hasn’t been a great one. They trail Real Madrid and Catalan neighbours Girona by seven points at the halfway stage of La Liga.

True, they qualified from their Champions League group for the first time in three years but Barca fans have been spoiled by success.

This version is far from vintage. They’ve not won a game by more than one goal for 20 matches, the latest a 3-2 win over fourth-tier Barbastro on Sunday in the Copa del Rey.

Xavi talks up his side publicly, even if most fans have a lower opinion of what they’re seeing with their own eyes. Finally, he was critical of his players after the hard-fought 3-2 win against Almeria in December, when only 34,471 were present at the Olympic Stadium.

A much-changed defence has struggled. Barcelona have conceded 22 goals in 19 games – against 20 in 38 last season. Jules Kounde, who played right-back last season, has not been as effective as a central defender – the position he wanted to play. Another defender struggling to reach the levels of last season is leftback Alejandro Balde.

Up front, no player beyond Robert Lewandowski, who has been average by his own high standards, has scored more than three. The Pole is the only Barcelona player in the top 40 scorers in La Liga with seven.

Barcelona continue to be in transition. This is the first full season without Sergio Busquets, Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba. The replacements have hardly inspired. Catalan midfielder Oriol Romeo, an honest, physical footballer, pales when compared to Busquets. On-loan Joao Felix started well but has tailed off, though fellow new signing Ilkay Gundogan has impressed and Joao Cancelo has been their best defender.

Injuries have been a major issue. Gavi, a world-class central midfielder at 19, tore his cruciate ligament in November.

His fantastic foil Pedri, 21, has been restricted to eight starts with ongoing hamstring and muscle injuries.

Ronald Araujo, 24, the Catalans’ best defender, has been hit by three injuries in the last year. Frenkie de Jong, a key player, perhaps the only player to have improved on last season and the best so far this season, missed two months of the season with a damaged ankle. Defender Inigo Martinez is also out injured, while goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen has been out with a back injury since November.

There have been positives – the emergence of Lamine Yamal, 16, and Fermin Lopez, 20, from a youth system that keeps on producing top-class players. They’ve played 25 and 19 games so far this term in all competitions, respectively.

Holders Barcelona play Osasuna, last season’s Copa del Rey finalists, in Riyadh in the Spanish Super Cup semi-final today. The winners will play the victors of yesterday’s Madrid derby; the Spanish Super Cup now being a four-team tournament since moving to Saudi Arabia in 2020.

How they could do with another lift from this tournament, played a long way from home.

Barcelona’s defence has struggled. They have conceded 22 goals in 19 games – against 20 in 38 last season