Match Report: Barcelona 0-0 Rubin Kazan

You can rack up all the excuses you want: it's a world cup year, the players are fatigued, they were freezing cold, yada yada. But at the end of the day, the reality of the matter is that Barca are simply not up to par this season. Especially lately.

Last night's match felt somewhat like a final going in, and the draw coming out felt like a loss. Because it was an important match that could have done so much more for our qualification chances. Because we had something to prove against Kazan... and to ourselves. Because we've been struggling in our last couple of matches, and need to get past that already. Because we're Barca, the treble winning best club in the world, and there is a standard that we have to live up to.

We'll swallow an off match or two or three, but you reach a point where something has to give. Where's the fire, that hunger for goals and wins and titles that the players showed in almost every single match last season? They have to start playing like they actually care about winning. They have to play more as a team, and not the way they did last night - Messi trying to single-handedly outdribble the world, Iniesta running circles around the box to no apparent purpose, and niether one of them working with Ibrahimovic they way they should, which cuts out about half of his effectiveness.

That's why our attacks weren't going through, with our chances all ending prematurely save for a few. There was no real threat on goal, no danger inside the box, nothing. Maybe it's fun to continually touch the ball back and forth between one another and see for how long you can keep it away from the other dudes, but that's not the way you play a football match. Again: we need teamwork. The boys need to work together, to communicate, and be the amazing collaborated team they were last season. We need that back.

And Pep... darling Pep. We love you and we trust you but we can't for the world understand why Thierry Henry only got ten minutes last night. We expected he'd start, or at least come on at the half or something; the team really needs him and last night it showed more than ever! Personally, we're convinced the match would have been a much better one if Titi had had a bigger part in it. Seriously.

Performance was bleak. The result was bleak. The only thing we absolutely loved about this match was Puyol - at five degrees below zero, he showed up in his bare kit, no base layers or extra trimmings, and played a great match with notable energy and speed. And felt the need to take his shirt off at the end of it all. Boys, salute your Captain and try to be more like him.