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Five terrifyingly terrible teams of 2021/22: Tottenham, Juventus, Barcelona...

marca.com, 31 October 2021, 20:15
There are some frightened fanbases this Halloween

It's Halloween and it's a night for embracing all things spooky, yet there are several football fanbases who have been living a terrifying nightmare for several weeks already. Fans of teams like Barcelona or Tottenham are living in fear of not qualifying for Europe, with their squads having been terrifyingly terrible so far.

Here, we take a look at five clubs who have been the biggest disappointments of the season, given how far below expectations they are.

Barcelona struggle in the Messi afterlife

The Camp Nou has been eerie this season. Even though fans are allowed back in the stands, they aren't turning up and just 37,278 were present for Saturday night's draw with Alaves. There are many reasons for the low attendances, but off-putting performances are one of them.

Ronald Koeman's side were struggling to score goals in both LaLiga Santander and the Champions League and that is why he was sacked. But, there was no immediate improvement for the Blaugrana against Alaves as they again disappointed. They're netting just 1.2 goals per game this campaign. It's scary how quickly Barcelona deteriorated as soon as Lionel Messi departed.

Tottenham's tricks over treats

Tottenham have had a poor couple of seasons, but expectations weren't that high coming into 2021/22 after a complicated summer in which Nuno Espirito Santo was hired as coach because others turned the job down.

But, after starting the season with three 1-0 victories, the expectation levels rose a little. Then came the collapse. Spurs have won just two more Premier League games and Nuno could soon be sacked.

Juventus and the terrors of Turin

Massimiliano Allegri's return was supposed to solve some of the terrors in Turin, but this simply hasn't been the case. They have less than half the points tally of Serie A leaders Napoli, with just 15 from 11 games. That leaves them down in ninth.

While they have been good in the Champions League, the domestic form is concerning for Juventus as their 2020/21 title loss looks to be more than just a blip.

Manchester United's chilling defeat

After bringing in Raphael Varane, Jadon Sancho and Cristiano Ronaldo, a serious Premier League title challenge was expected from Manchester United. But, that hasn't happened.

Instead, the Red Devils have dropped points left, right and centre and suffered a humiliating 5-0 home defeat to Liverpool.

Manchester United also seem to be suffering an identity crisis, not able to fit an ageing Ronaldo into what was a pacey and youthful front line. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is still in charge, but has work to do.

The tombstone of Inter Miami's first season

After a mini revival followed their terrible start, Inter Miami have ultimately missed out on the MLS playoffs as a result of their 3-1 home loss to New York City this weekend. This is not what David Beckham and co. had in mind when they launched the expansion team, but Phil Neville's side haven't managed to reach the post-season.

There is work to do in the off-season, ahead of 2022. Inter Miami have high expectations and a lot of ambition, but it has been a scary start for the new team.

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