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BARCELONA

Luis Enrique bemoans lost points at Camp Nou after Clásico

Of the 21 available points to play for at home in LaLiga, Barça have only taken 12 of them with three wins, three draws and a loss.

Imagen del Camp Nou.
David RamosGetty Images

Barcelona vs Borussia Monchengladbach

Home is where the hurt is

Luis Enrique said it over and over in the press conference after the Clásico where his Barcelona side drew 1-1 with title rivals Real Madrid: "We are dropping lots of points at home, this needs to improve".

Barcelona - Real Madrid: Sergio Ramos takes two more home points off the home tally.
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Barcelona - Real Madrid: Sergio Ramos takes two more home points off the home tally.FELIPE SEVILLANODIARIO AS

And he is clearly right. Barça have only won three of their seven home games in LaLiga so far this campaign - Betis (6-2), Deportivo (4-0) and Granada (1-0). For a team with such a potent starting line-up and with the heavily reinforced squad, thanks mainly to the significant summer investment rather than young players coming through the academy, a loss to Alavés (1-2) and a no score draw with Málaga is not acceptable. Even the single-goal stalemates against their main challengers for the championship this season, Atlético and Real Madrid, will be disappointing for many in the club knowing that two trips to the capital await in the second half of the season.

Fortress Camp Nou no more

In summary, Barça have already lost 42% of the points available to them in their games at the Camp Nou - a ratio that is too much for a team that has title ambitions. Last season, of their 19 home games only three were not wins (a 2-2 draw with Deportivo and 1-2 losses to Madrid and Valencia) which is only 14% of the available points dropped. Making their home more than just a stadium and more like the fortress of old needs to happen quickly if the Catalan club is to walk away with silverware again this year. The fear factor for visiting teams has been lost.