After Xavi became Barcelona manager, the Red and Blue Army underwent earth-shaking changes. The team's offensive and defensive transitions are faster, the confrontation is more efficient, and winning seems to be an easy task.
When Real Madrid become the sixth team (after Xavi took office) to be scored four goals by Barca, will Ancelotti feel wronged? In fact, if the Barca striker had not conceded too many goals, the game would not have been as simple as 4-0.
01. The frontless Real Madrid flanks are suppressed: losing is an inevitable consequence
If there is one man who defends Vinicius: it is actually Harvey
Real Madrid started the game with a 460 formation similar to that of a frontless player, the key point being to expect the winged wingers to penetrate Barca's flanks, and then let the follow-up Valverde insert a chance. The latter did get a good chance to shoot once, but soon struggled to get a second.
The key point is Real Madrid's double back + double front waist configuration, but it cannot win the three midfielders of Baza when controlling the ball. In addition, Real Madrid's bilateral forwards could not penetrate the Barca flank, but their full-backs were punctuated by Dembele's ball and Ferran Torres's no-ball.
It is typical of this round that Dembele retreated to help Araujo at the first time. The existence of the latter made Vinicius suspicious, and after Dembele was in place, it was difficult for the Real Madrid winger.
What is even more amazing is that Barca's forwards have returned to the 30-meter area to retreat, and this time the broken ball is actually completed by Aubameyang.
It is clear from the GIF that Vinicius was under the defensive pressure of Barca, and he exposed the problem of his lack of technical detail at his feet. This time the stop ball almost pierced his crotch, and by the time he adjusted back, Dembele was already in front of him.
The Brazilian also wanted to take a few more steps, only to be taken away by the retreating Aubameyang.
Some say that Araujo played right-back to lock up Vinicius is not accurate enough. It should be said that Xavi's tactical arrangement has completely locked up one of Real Madrid's most threatening offensive lines.
b. Stark contrast: Barca have penetrated the real Madrid flank
In this world, whether it is done well or not well, there are often many evaluation criteria. The most convenient way, then, is to find a contrast.
Vinicius was limited by the retreating Dembele, so Dembele on the offensive end was not something that Vinicius could catch up with. This time it seemed that Vinicius was not far away, but Dembele did not make a mistake in stopping the ball, so he picked up speed in an instant and directly hit Nacho.
Dembele has played more than 700 minutes in La Liga this season, almost 8 full-time starts, and has already scored 9 assists. His biggest trick is crosses, especially after the arrival of his old partner Aubameyang, the two are really a match.
Because Dembele is a double-footed man, it is impossible for him to restrain him if there is only one defender on the wing. Dembele is free to choose to go inside or outside, and in the end Nacho is defensive, but instead leaves Dembele farther and farther.
With a high-quality cross, Aubameyang understood the header a little, and the ball went into the bottom of Real Madrid's net.
02. Why Aubameyang is so good at Barca: the red and blue midfield is fantastic!
A. It seems that there are many shots on goal: but the difference in offensive quality is large
Statistically, although Barca has a possession rate of 60%, it is not one-sided in terms of shooting.
But if you look at the breakdown, Barca shot is much higher in quality. Barca created 7 absolute scoring opportunities in the whole game, and Real Madrid's statistic is 0. If barca had not conceded four goals, the score gap would have been even greater.
One of Real Madrid's best team fits in the game came from Vinicius receiving a straight ball from the back and hitting the Barca flank. He got rid of Araujo and returned the pass to find Valverde, who followed, which was also the attack that Ancelotti wanted.
However, Real Madrid's most threatening shot this time was deflected by Ter Stegen.
b. Barca's midfield is high: Busquets, Pedri and De Jong are strong
Some people have questioned barca's midfield, but after Xavi joined the team, we can see that Barca's midfield is still the top level in Europe.
Barca have a clear advantage in the number of passes in front of the ribs and the penalty area, which is why the Red and Blue Army have more opportunities to attack.
If Dembele relies on single-handed one-on-one breakthroughs and high-quality crosses, Ferran Torres's strength is his no-ball forward insertion and wide range.
Busquets' pass pierced the Real Madrid defence, and Ferran Torres's no-ball was interspersed with Barca's great passing advantage in midfield, which was particularly in tune.
It is worth noting that Alaba in the middle of the road really can't keep up with Aubameyang at all, and the former inexplicably emptied the Barca striker. If it weren't for Courtois' bravery, the former Arsenal captain might have scored a hat-trick.
Looking at this attack, Barca strikers Aubameyang and Ferran Torres have to do without the ball, and then Pedri takes on the task of possession and organization.
When Militan was thus teased by Pedri, Aubameyang took Alaba away with a sideways cover, leaving Felan Torres to cut into the penalty area. Pedri's over-the-top ball was too beautiful, but Ferran Torres's shot was still a little slower.
03. Barca, which has more high balls: faster and stronger
After taking the lead, Barca played more long passes in the second half to counter-attack, further releasing the speed of movement of the forward line. After coming to Barca, Aubameyang's statistics were not much different from Arsenal's, but the number of goals scored per unit of time doubled by four times.
From 260 minutes a goal in Arsenal time, it has now been 63 minutes for 1 goal.
When Real Madrid wanted to press Barca in a front-of-the-line formation, the Red and Blue Army made a long pass and the opponent could not match the point. De Jong sent Aubameyang a brilliant pass, but the latter's left-footed shot did not play well.
We can't say that Aubameyang himself was reborn in Barca, the real gap is that Barca's "pie-making" ability is too strong. Another long pass, Ferran Torres pushed against Carvajal to send a clever pass, allowing Aubameyang to score his second goal of the game.
As can be seen from the statistics, Aubameyang lost all three head-to-head one-on-one confrontations in this game, and the number of passes was also 0. All he had to focus on was shooting, 5 of the 6 shots on target, and although he missed 2 great chances, he also scored 2 goals.
Because Barca's overall attack moves quickly, the team can get a lot of room to intersperse. Although Aubameyang is not good at passing, his passing is actually very good. This time, the ball to Ferran Torres was sent to let the latter win a one-handed chance, but unfortunately failed to score.
But Real Madrid gave the Barca striker too many opportunities to prove himself, and this time Aubameyang sent another one-bladed ball to Ferran Torres, who finally seized it.
Conclusion:
With better midfield staffing, the defensive end limits Real Madrid's threat points, and the offensive end hits Real Madrid's soft underbelly. Harvey achieved a perfect score in every detail of this game.
With such a good coach, Barca are destined to have even greater success in the future. When Aubameyang can become an ace shooter under Harvey, does Laporta dare to buy Harvey a good striker of the year?! This may make the Red and Blue Army more profitable in the future.
(Lust)