Barça remain the team to beat

Former Barcelona striker Samuel Eto’o said after Inter Milan won at the Nou Camp last week that that his side had beaten the best side in the world and that appears to be the general feeling that while Barça play the best football they can be beaten especially against more physical sides.
Last year Barcelona were within minutes of going out against Chelsea and had it not been for Andres Iniesta’s wonder strike then they would have been eliminated and then this time around without a miracle comeback they were knocked out by a super defensive Inter side which used their physical strength to out muscle Barça.
Back in 1974 it was claimed that while Germany won the World Cup it did not matter to the Dutch players who had been beaten as they knew they had played the best football and that is true up to a point but is there a way that Barça can improve to become more competitive in Europe.
Personally I think that Pep Guardiola did not make the most of his man advantage against Chelsea for the final hour of the game. It was only in the last 15 minutes that he played Pique as a centre forward and so mixing up their attack and that paid off immediately with Barça’s goal. Surely though Barça could have tried different tactics earlier in the game in order to find a breakthrough.
The decision to play Milito instead of Maxwell did not seem to make much sense when you are pushing forward for a goal and that meant bringing Toure into the defence whereas he could have been a valuable addition bringing some muscle to the midfield.
Perhaps Guardiola signed Ibrahimovic with the hope that he would bring some height and strength to the attack but this has far from worked and instead slowed down the forward line. The most disappointing aspect is that against Samuel and Lucio he was unable to create any real danger and yet Bojan came on and was a threat straight away.
There has also been plenty of talk about Mourinho on his return to Barcelona but I think it is a big mistake to take him too seriously. He comes along deliberately trying to wind people up and people should not fall into the trap. He likes the attention and every time he comes to Barça the local press and fans get irritated by him. The fact is his defensive style worked but Barça should not be beaten by a side which just sits back and especially when they have ten men.