The downhill of Lenglet

If football is a state of mind, these are not the best days to make Clèment Lenglet play. At 25, the Frenchman is going through a tremendous valley of play that is the result of a gradual decline in his performance. This season, in addition, the downturn has incorporated a problematic plus of very striking failures that have ruined several Barça games. Although pointing to a player has a somewhat unfair point of cruelty in football, the truth is that, in addition to transmitting insecurity all season, Lenglet has been seriously wrong this season, He fell into the trap of Ramos in the Classic with a penalty pointed out by Martínez Munuera. Then, he was in the photo of the 2-1 of Cádiz in Carranza, with a diabolical assignment and Ter Stegen.

The last two errors have been more serious if possible. On the last day of the group stage of the Champions League, against Juventus, he put a childish hand into the area. The VAR caught him and Cristiano made the 0-3 that left Barça second in the group and in the hype of the weak. And this Sunday against Cádiz he recklessly put his leg in his area. Martíns Munuera hunted him again.

Information has been coming from the locker room for a long time about the bad times that Lenglet is living, and that they go further with some discomfort in one of his knees that his agents air off the record. After a great first season that only ruined Liverpool's night, the Frenchman's performance began to decline last year. With Umtiti permanently injured, Lenglet was a basic pillar for the defense. But he began to have more problems in anticipation. To be late and to lose speed duels. That took away his confidence because as he was not an aggressive player, they were two of his theoretical strengths. This season, in addition, he has added concentration errors, unforgivable in any player but much more in a defender. You feel very vulnerable.

Several signs have suggested that Lenglet's performance was downhill in the last year. Upon his arrival, Setién tried in any way with Umtiti ahead of the former Sevilla player although he knew that the former Lyon player was not at all. And Koeman has repeated that operation this season. As soon as Umtiti was minimally to enter, he placed him in that position. Koeman tried again with Lenglet last Tuesday against PSG and he tried it this Sunday against Cádiz. But the Beauvais-born player has failed again. Lenglet has entered a labyrinth and cannot get out.