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DORTMUND, Germany – The problem is that the solution can not be distinguished from the problem. This is the trap Barcelona can not escape, the Gordian knot that has entangled and trapped the club and is tightening every day and every game for which it is not erased.
There is nothing wrong with leaving Borussia Dortmund with a clean and precious goal, even for a Barcelona standard and scale team. His draw Tuesday is not a bad result in any context; Given recent memories of this club on car trips in this competition, this could easily be seen as a sign of progress.
After all, Barcelona is still haunted by what happened at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome in the spring of 2018. The spectrum of Anfield, just a few months ago, remains etched in his collective spirit. Last year, in the traditional speech of the captain of the club pronounced at Camp Nou at the dawn of the season, Lionel Messi could only promise to make amends for the first. This time, months after the Liverpool collapse, he admitted it was "hard to say anything".
Getting out of Signal Iduna Park unscathed, from the shadows of the yellow wall – the fast-paced and threatening South-Stand at Dortmund – will provide a comforting boost. There are more hostile occasions than an opening match in the group stages, but there are few more intimidating places. It's a balm rather than a cure, but still: Tuesday's draw will help wounds heal.
This is not the only mitigating circumstance. There is the fact that Barcelona arrived here with his resources somewhat exhausted: Luis Suárez had seen his start to the season interrupted by an injury; Messi had missed him completely. Barcelona has arrived in Germany a team in full change, its two catchy summer rookies, Antoine Griezmann and Frenkie De Jong, still well established, its most beautiful spark to date, Ansu Fati, aged 16 and largely ignored by the academy of the club.
It would be unfair to judge his prospects on the evidence of a single screen, to draw radical conclusions from such a small sample. Barcelona will change as the season progresses. Suárez will find his advantage and his eye. Griezmann will adapt to its new environment.
Javier Mascherano said that it took a year to get used to the specific way that Barcelona plays; You think that De Jong belongs to the kind of school that could allow him to escape with a condensed course. And Fati, judging by his beginnings, will continue to grow at the same frantic pace at which he captured much of Spain's imagination.
But above all, Messi will come back in top form. He will be able to play more than the 30 minutes he has managed to replace in Dortmund. He will weave his magic and exert his influence and he will bend the games to his will.
It will finally be Barcelona's solution. Messi has the ability to shine so strong that nothing else, no flaws and no ugliness can be seen. Manchester City and Liverpool – despite the defeat of the latter in Naples on Tuesday – could be exceptional teams in Europe, but as long as Messi is in his ranks, it is impossible to cancel Barcelona. However, it is increasingly felt that this is precisely the problem of Barcelona.
After 59 minutes of play, Messi entered the battlefield after a big wave of mockery hit the yellow wall. It was probably about the same time as director Ernesto Valverde was planning to introduce him, but it was just after Marco Reus, the Dortmund captain, missed a penalty, just when the host started turn the screw and put the pressure on it. is unlikely to have been a coincidence.
At that point, Valverde would later admit that his team had lost control of the match. At this point, he said, "every counter-attack was very dangerous."
Psychologically, for both teams, this seemed like an important moment. Dortmund has earned a reputation for being unable to cope with failures; he was busy coping with his disappointment and steaming. Barcelona faltered and did what she always did: she was watching Messi at the critical moment. That's what Barcelona always does, even when it looks (naturally) a bit slow, a bit off-beat.
They have a word for it: Messidependencia. Admitting one's existence does not have to be read as a criticism. It is, to a certain extent, inevitable, a consequence of the presence of such a talented player in the team: a yin and a yang, a natural balance between things. At times of last season, Valverde introduced it – not quite unfairly – as a force as much as a weakness. Of course, his team depends on Messi. Which team would not be?
The problem is that, at some point, there will come a time when Messi – because of an injury or fatigue or just the length and slowness of his progress – will not be able to deliver Barcelona. Or perhaps even more urgent, when his presence will not be enough to hide all the faults of the team.
It looked like a preview of it. Messi's introduction was meant to settle his teammates and disturb Dortmund. It did not quite work that way. Dortmund invaded him as soon as he received the ball, the black and yellow jersey that surrounded him, dispossessing him, and then tearing the ground towards the Yellow Wall, looking for something to do with him. a breakthrough.
Chances have continued to come. Time and time again, Barcelona's defense was open or, more often, simply bypassed, with the dazzling speed of Dortmund being too difficult to manage for Gerard Piqué and Clement Lenglet.
"They did a lot of damage," said Valverde. Only Marc-André ter Stegen, Barcelona's best player, and his faithful crossbar resisted the tide. Messi stood still, on the other end of the field, watching Dortmund hitting his goalkeeper, unable to help. This is not his fault. He can only do a lot of things.
In the end, it did not matter. With a better finish, though, it could have been. Against a better team than Dortmund, that would be the case. There will come a time – another night in the Champions League, where the pressure will be greater and the stake more important, and the memories of Barcelona more alive – which could be a problem.
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