Barcelona are letting the pressure prevent them from playing their game

There are some basic truths about about football that will never change.

For one, it’s a game of momentum. Barcelona started the game on the back foot again, and that’s a recipe for failure.

Leganes earned the opening goal because they were the team who won the battle of intensity from the first whistle. And they converted a well-constructed corner set-piece against a disorganized, and unprepared opponent.

You have to play the game for 90 minutes. And the beginning, for the more talented side, is the most critical stage of all, because that’s when you have a chance to make your mark, and put away an overmatched rival before any bit of bad luck can set in.