Former Chelsea defender Marcos Alonso has been criticised by Barca Universal for his performance off the bench against Intercity last night.
The La Liga side, who have already crashed out of the Champions League, threatened to embarrass themselves again last night against third-tier opposition.
They eventually came through 4-3 winners, with former Chelsea targets Raphinha and Ousmane Dembele on the scoresheet.
In what was an extremely strong side, Alonso was called upon from the bench in an attempt to see out the final few minutes.
This occurred to disastrous effect. The Spain international was at fault as the minnows scored their third and forced extra-time.
Despite eventually booking their place in the Round of 16, Alonso’s performance failed to escape criticism, with Barca Universal asking questions of manager Xavi for continue to play him out of position.
Alonso slammed for performance
They said: “Marcos Alonso: 2/10. Xavi needs to take a serious look at himself for persisting with Marcos Alonso as a central defender.
“He just does not seem comfortable and made a horrendous mistake minutes after coming on that led to Intercity’s third goal. Bringing on Alonso when Christensen was on the bench was a huge blunder.”
One thing that was never normally praised during the 32-year-old’s time at Stamford Bridge was his defending.
Instead, Alonso was far more regularly lauded for his contributions going forwards, regularly chipping in with important goals for a number of managers.
The fact Xavi seems to prefer him in the middle of defence to recognised centre-back and former Chelsea man Andreas Christensen poses questions about how the Denmark international is performing at the Nou Camp too.
Despite their struggles in cup competitions, Barcelona do sit top of La liga, conceding just six goals in 15 games in the league to keep them there on goal difference.
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