Barcelona – Sevilla 6-1 – Tactical masterclass by Valverde
The Barcelona – Sevilla 6-1 win was a massive one. A great “Remontada” by our boys, after the 2-0 loss in the first leg. Here’s the post match report, given to you by @tacticianbarca
Lineup and Formations
Barca started with the usual 433. Valverde trusted his best lineup, and focused their attacks on central overlaps with Messi and Coutinho. On the other hand, Sevilla played their 352 they’ve used this season, with the exception that Promes played on the right side. However, this move proved to be a mistake which partly costed them the game.
As usual, Messi was very active in finding Alba with diagonal through balls into space. The defensive weakness of Promes + the absence of Aleix Vidal made Alba the main attacking threat throughout the match.
With a very active left side, Arthur played one of the best games in a Barcelona shirt. Not only was he dribbling opponents, it was one of the first times we saw how good his final ball can actually be. With a majestic pass breaking 3 LINES, he assisted Rakitic.
Good news from Coutinho and Busquets
Coutihttps://barcabuzz.com/2019/01/what-causes-the-bad-form-of-coutinhonho, oh man. Coutinho, great player. Once again he showed he IS Barca quality, all he needs is a functional midfield behind him. Solid performance + 2 goals is a huge confidence booster. In addition, his role in the game was simple. Get the ball, release it as quickly as possible. He stopped over-complicating his game, and looked like he played without pressure.
Busquets was not a 3rd CB as we have seen in other matches. This has been one of the only games this year where he’s played higher up the pitch than he usually is. In possession, he’d stay with Rakitic. Off possession, he would look to block Banega in case of a counter attack.
With moments of invidual quality, Barça were able to score 2 succesive goals within the first 10 minutes of the second half. Barça’s plan there was to retain possession, and die off the game basically.
But, Arana’s golazo caused Valverde to continue attacking. Coutinho stayed higher up, and Rakitic cut inside. This worked, Sevilla were basically choked on their own half, unable to play out the back. With individual brilliance from the players, they were able to score 2 more.
