In the 30th round of the 2021-22 La Liga season, Barca took on Camp Nou to meet Sevilla. Before the match, Barca trailed Sevilla by 3 points in the first round of the junior round and ranked third, so this game is a veritable 2-game battle. Harvey's starting line was in line with the previous predictions of the Daily Sports, with 38-year-old veteran Alves returning to the starting lineup, Araujo and Pique pairing up as a double centre-back, and Alba being irreplaceable on the left. The midfielder is still Busquets partnering De Jong and Pedri, and Dembele, Ferran Torres and Aubameyang form a trident.
After the opening, Barca attacked and Sevilla defended. Facing Sevilla's dense defence, Barca's attacking organization today was patient, constantly shifting between the two ribs in search of opportunities to break the game. The division of labor in the midfield 3-man group is clear and has different characteristics. Busquets is responsible for the ball in the back, playing the role of a hub for the conversion of attack and defense; Pedri organizes and responds, which is the brain of the team's attack; de Jong pushes forward at the right time. Under their joint dispatch, Barca's attacking style is three-dimensional and diverse, and the attack wave after wave rushes to Sevilla's penalty area.
Throughout the first half, Barca created nine shots on goal, but none of them were seized. Under Barca's aggressive counter-attack, Sevilla's attack was limited everywhere, with only one shot on goal in the entire half and failed to hit the target.
In the second half, Sevilla had some strength, but the situation was still firmly in the hands of Barca. They got 61% possession, created 10 shots on goal and hit the target four times. Sevilla also created seven shots on goal, tested the goal guarded by Ter Stegen three times and was close to scoring at one point.
In this stalemate, trying to rewrite the score will definitely require the stars to stand up. In the post-Messi era, Pedri was the one with the "magic" he had. In the 72nd minute, Pedri received a return pass from Dembele outside the penalty area, and a fake movement of his left foot shook over the player who fell to the ground to hand over to his right foot, facing the opponent's re-blocking, Pedri showed calmness and maturity beyond age. He flicked his right foot again, completely flashed out of the angle, and then fired a powerful shot, and the ball bounced into the net at the goalkeeper's hand, 1-0! Barça's long-term attack finally upset the balance.
Pedri was the one who broke the deadlock, but Dembele was the biggest contributor to the victory.
Barca played very actively on both flanks today, especially on the right side where Dembele is. The French attacker was more and more mature under Harvey's men, and when to pass and when to take, he was very well held. Before being replaced in the 89th minute, Dembele sent a total of 15 crosses, the highest in the game. Created 2 scoring chances and directly assisted Pedri's deadlock-breaking goal.
In addition to his sharp attacking, Dembele is also very active on the defensive end. A total of 15 confrontations and 6 successes, 1 interception and 2 steals were delivered. After the game, he scored a game-high 8.3 points, which was the well-deserved MVP of the game.
After beating rival sevilla, Barca have won six consecutive games in La Liga and are unbeaten in 13 consecutive matches in all competitions (10 wins, 3 draws). What is even more rare is that Xavi's Barcelona are not only sharp in attack, but also more and more solid in defense. In these 13 unbeaten matches, Barca have kept six clean sheets, conceding only 10 goals in total, but scoring 31 goals. Under Xavi's leadership, Barca have gotten rid of the performance of offensive constipation and defensive straddling in the past few years.
Seeing barca's strong momentum now, the fans have mixed feelings. Last summer, "King of camp Nou" Messi left with a grudge, and Barca's prospects were unanimously looked down upon. Sure enough, Coman's Barca record has been unstable, and the league ranking has fallen all the way, falling to 9th at its lowest. In times of crisis, Harvey did not hesitate to pay for it out of his own pocket and was in danger of being the Savior.
Although the initial stage was difficult, Barca stepped out of the quagmire. Now, 5 months later, Barca has not only risen to the second place in a row, but more rarely, Xavi's team has let people see the shadow of the "Dream Team". They played familiar passing controls, but the tactical content was richer, with a variety of large-scale transfers, over-the-top balls hanging into the box, crosses, and long-range shots. This season's Barça have become the team with the most goals outside the La Liga penalty area, which was unimaginable before.
After winning Sevilla, Barca are currently 12 points behind Real Madrid in the first round of the game. If Barca can score three points in the make-up, that means they need to chase nine points in the last eight rounds. Can Barca continue to catch up and even surpass Real Madrid? Of course, the hopes are slim, but Barca today definitely have the strength to create miracles, especially after a comprehensive comparison of the remaining fixtures of the two teams.
Of Barca's remaining 9 opponents, only Real Betis, Real Sociedad and Villarreal are relatively strong. But Real Madrid also need to meet Sevilla, Atletico and Real Betis. In addition, Real Madrid also have Champions League matches to play, against Chelsea. The gap between 2 Champions League and La Liga is only 3 days, which will definitely be a distraction for them, let's wait and see!