Playing off-ball is more important than playing on-ball as the former impacts space. Most Barcelona players either don't play off-ball or do it poorly with Messi at the head of that. You'll never be an intense team if your players are only focused on the ball. https://twitter.com/barcacentre/status/1283870060294144006

One of the reasons why Benzema is so impactful is the amount of space he creates for others via his movement. These are all statistical 0s but are the most effective thing to do on the pitch. Barcelona had Suárez to do this but this isn't 2016 anymore.

Runs into Space per 90:

Luis Suárez
7.55 — 2015/16
6.79 — 2019/20

Neymar/Griezmann
5.67 — 2015/16
4.04 — 2019/20

Lionel Messi
4.01 — 2015/16
3.27 — 2019/20

When your frontline do not move much off the ball — Suárez still underrated in this regard — you will lack intensity.

Compare this to Karim Benzema who's still making 7.90 off-ball runs into space per 90 and is still an incredible technician on top of that. This is the sort of running Barcelona players should be doing but none of them do it.

Space does not come to you because you have the ball. Space is the result of selfless movement made in order to drag opposition players into certain areas and zones. Barcelona players are experienced enough to already know this. So, they should be doing it with no excuses.