Defending Set Pieces Is Key Issue for Barcelona to Resolve After Defeat by PSG

Paris Saint-Germain highlighted an old area of weakness for Barcelona by scoring two goals from set pieces against them on Tuesday night in the Champions League.

Luis Enrique's start to life in charge of the Catalan giants has been good, despite the 3-2 defeat to the French side on a messy but enthralling night at Parc des Princes. Barcelona went down fighting, but in the end they got what they deserved.

That was precisely nothing, which should provide motivation for the team to get themselves together for the challenges ahead.

Enrique admitted as much after the game, per SPORT he told a press conference: "PSG were able to take advantage of our mistakes. They were individual mistakes, there were times when we took the wrong decision. We need to analyse them."

This has been an area of weakness for a long while at Barcelona, and not much looks to have changed under Luis Enrique.

Michel Euler/Associated Press

Barcelona don't have a great belief they can score from corners and free-kicks, while at the other end look like conceding from them.

While they have kept seven clean sheets in eight games, in those matches they have still looked vulnerable from dead balls.

PSG scored twice from these situations. Dani Alves gave away a free-kick deep in his own half, which Lucas Moura swung into the box.

David Luiz was being marked by Javier Mascherano, allegedly. The Brazilian easily held off his South American rival, controlling the ball and working the space to give himself room to calmly slot into the bottom-right corner of the net.

Then, the second goal came from a corner. Ivan Rakitic was left with several PSG men to mark at the back post and Marc-Andre ter Stegen came wandering out of his goal, into no man's land.

Marco Verratti was left with the simple task of heading into an empty net.

Christophe Ena/Associated Press

Barcelona need to buck up their ideas when it comes to defending these sorts of opportunities.

Mascherano has been in good form so far this season alongside Jeremy Mathieu but is vulnerable in situations like this because his build is less robust than many of the players he faces.

If Barcelona cannot stop being beaten from set pieces, they should at least endeavour to concede as few as possible near their area.

The one that Alves gave away for the opening goal was completely needless. He started off on a self-indulgent dribble, was tackled and then handballed as he tried to make amends.

Meanwhile, in attack, Barcelona also need to be more menacing from set-piece opportunities.

Michel Euler/Associated Press

Gerard Pique scored a header in the last Champions League game, against Apoel Nicosia, from a Lionel Messi free-kick.

But Pique was left on the bench, and Barcelona could have used his physical presence in their box and in PSG's.

La Liga champions Atletico Madrid are known for their brilliant tactics at corners and free-kicks when attacking, and Barcelona can take a leaf out of their book.

Messi and Rakitic are both good at delivering from dead-ball situations, so the likes of Mathieu need to watch Diego Godin and Joao Miranda for Diego Simeone's side and learn something from their movement.

The Atletico coach believes that corners are a perfectly legitimate way to score goals and doesn't believe that netting a majority of their goals from set-pieces (10 out of 15 in all competitions this season) means his side don't play attacking football.

"In order to have corners, you have to attack," Simeone told reporters.

Although it is at odds with their flowing, beautiful style, exemplified in Messi's beautifully constructed goal against PSG, perhaps Barcelona should take note.