The harder they come, the harder Barça falls

Tito Vilanova’s team is playing for its place in the Wembley final. It is a tough challenge. It faces an all-powerful Bayern Munich, possibly the most in-form team in Europe, which arrives with a 4-0 lead from the first leg at the Allianz Arena.
Since that game last Tuesday, the atmosphere in Barcelona has been one of scepticism, especially with regards to a possible comeback. Firstly, due to the opposition, but above all, due to the Catalan side’s form when playing against a top team.
In the past year, since it played last season’s Champions League semi-final against Chelsea, Barcelona has been unable to raise its game against the top sides. The numbers speak for themselves. During that year, Barça has played 15 big games. It has only won three of those: The Spanish Cup final against Athletic de Bilbao, the Spanish Super Cup final first leg against Real Madrid and the recent comeback against AC Milan.
Worst of all, it lost seven: Four against Real Madrid and one against Milan, Bayern and Chelsea. It is obvious that Barcelona has lost its competitive edge, something that has not gone unnoticed by the management team, which is prepared to make some changes to the squad as a result.
This is Barça’s situation as it looks to stage a comeback. It is heading for either another epic fail against a big club or another episode of the Messi show. However, it won’t be a comfortable win, as that just does not happen anymore.