Tuesday 19 April 2016 12:01, UK
In his weekly column, Guillem Balague explains why Neymar is not fully responsible for Barcelona's three-game league losing streak...
Many people are blaming Neymar and Luis Enrique for Barcelona's defeat to Valencia.
Neymar has become ineffective and focuses on the wrong things. He dribbles when he should pass, and sometimes confronts the opposition and responds to tackles in the wrong way.
However, he's not to blame for everything. It's quite clear Barcelona have put a total emphasis on the front three.
If they don't deliver it's a problem, Neymar hasn't been scoring like he was before and although Lionel Messi scored one last night, it was his first goal in six.
The problem is they don't defend well, either, so the team is exposed to counter-attacks and Valencia very cleverly took advantage of that.
In terms of Luis Enrique, he didn't substitute anybody which is a telling story that he didn't think anybody from the bench was good enough.
Arda Turan was suspended, but in any case, Barcelona are now not a squad but a team of 11 players. It quite clearly shows, at this stage of the season, because the first team are getting mentally and physically tired.
Also in Sunday's press conference, Luis Enrique had a go at a journalist who asked what the physical preparation of the squad is like, and if he felt it had an influence on the result.
He responded really badly and there was absolutely no need for such a reaction. Obviously it's a sign of the pressure he's going through.
Barcelona still hold advantage in the title race
Zero points out of nine, or one point out of 12... whichever way you look at it, it is Barcelona's worst run since 2003. Meanwhile, for Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid it's nine points out of nine.
Barcelona didn't do much wrong on Sunday night. They created chances, but obviously lack the confidence that you have when you are getting goals and results.
Valencia could have lost, and head coach Pako Ayestaran admitted that. If so the headlines could have been completely different. It was a bit of a fluke result in a game that was mostly well played by Barcelona.
The calendar is quite favourable to Barcelona. On Wednesday there are big games. Deportivo v Barcelona, Athletic Bilbao v Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid v Villarreal.
But if you look at the fixture list, Barcelona have got Deportivo, Sporting Gijon, Real Betis, Espanyol, and Granada. Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid have got tough games against Athletic Bilbao and Malaga and the last game is against European challengers Celta Vigo.
Real Madrid have got the most difficult game left out of all three teams in Villarreal, but also have to play Real Sociedad away and Valencia at home.
Despite the defeat, the fact is Barcelona played well enough for them to believe that improvements are around the corner and they are capable of it.
Apart from this week, Barcelona will play just one game per week while Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid are also focused on the Champions League.
Fernando Torres is finding his best form in years
Koke was absolutely key in Atletico Madrid's 3-0 win against Granada. He is the perfect Diego Simeone player. Even if he plays as a number 10 or behind Antoine Griezmann and Fernando Torres, he works so hard.
By being close to the front two, Atletico have the possibility of a killer pass but also goals from deep and both happened on Sunday. The first goal was a Koke goal and the second was an assist to Torres.
Torres is now finding his best form in years. He's going to be told soon that his contract will be renewed and I think he's a good addition to the team in this form.
There's people saying that maybe he is going to claim a place in the national team, but I don't think so yet. Alvaro Morata, Paco Alcacer and possibly Diego Costa or Aritz Aduriz at the moment deserve their spots but certainly Torres is in good form.
Cristiano Ronaldo is peaking at the right moment of the season
Cristiano Ronaldo has 30 goals, and he's played every single minute this season. Maybe what we're seeing is the new version of Ronaldo. Slow during two thirds of the season, with physical problems that he admits himself, but finishing the campaign strong.
He's scored important goals against Roma, Barcelona and Wolfsburg, and I believe he's still needed until the end if Real Madrid are going to win titles.
Karim Benzema has scored 22 goals which is a league record for him. In fact, that means 69 goals for 'BBC', one off the 70 goals of Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar. So it's been a good ending of the season for Real Madrid's forwards.
After beating Barcelona, Valencia post-Gary Neville look a better team
Ayestaran is happy, as quite clearly Valencia could have lost to Barcelona, but it was interesting to see a Valencia team that didn't drop too deep and held their lines quite well.
The team seemed to fly on the counter-attack. It helps that he has one game per week after going out of the Europa League, and of course victories breed confidence.
They seem like a team who have adjusted and have a clearer idea of what to do while looking happy to perform their duties.
A midfield of Dani Parejo, Enzo Perez, Javi Fuego with Andre Gomes holding should be the base for next season if they manage to keep Gomes.
