Over the past two months, Barcelona have been immersed in the honeymoon period of Xavi's return, and the latter has led the team to a superb record of 15 unbeaten games, even making people mistaken for a while that Xavi took over early, and the team once created 15 unbeaten games, and climbed from ninth in the league to second in the league. But the recent two consecutive defeats have not only made people see the shortcomings of Harvey's rule, but also see who is indispensable.
Over the past two months, Barcelona have gone unbeaten in 15 games on all fronts, including a classic 4-0 win over Real Madrid, which once made people think that Barca had completed their reconstruction and were back on track. However, in the past two matches, Barcelona first lost at home to Eintracht Frankfurt and did not qualify for the Europa League final four; then lost 1-0 at home to Cadiz, declaring the league title defeat in advance. In just two matches, Barcelona have been eliminated from both events, announcing in advance that all four of this season are empty.
Fans who know Barca should know that barcelona's starting line-up has changed significantly in both games, and both have happened in the team's midfield.
At the moment, Barca's regular starting line-up is dembele, Aubameyang and Torres, the midfielders are Busquets, De Jong and Pedri, and the backcourt is Destin, Araujo, Pique and Alba. It's not that Harvey doesn't want to use other players as starters, but because the squad is too thin, and there is a clear gap between the strength of the starter and the substitute.
In Barca's 2-3 Eintracht Frankfurt match, Barca had to send Mingisa and Garcia to replace them in the back line due to the injuries of Dester and Pique, and the midfield side was started by Gabi because of De Jong's physical discomfort. Although it seems that the problem is not big, there is still a huge gap between the strength of these three people and the strength of the starters.
In the match against Cadiz, the team even missed the three main players of Araujo, Pique and Pedri, which made the team lose the game.
However, in the past two months or so, Harvey has brought more than 15 unbeaten games, and more importantly, it has gradually established the talent of the long-term team for the team. Apart from Aubameyang and Ferrantores, the most surprising players under Xavi are the growth of Araujo in the backline, the explosion of Mr. Dembele, and the regeneration of Francie De Jong. But the most exciting thing is still the master performance of 19-year-old talent midfielder Pedri.
Although in the second half of the season, healthy Dembele has played 15 consecutive La Liga games for the team and has delivered 11 assists to catch up with Benzema, and the two are tied for the top spot in La Liga top scorers. In the last match against Cadiz, he staged 13 outstanding plays. Despite this, Dembele, who has only one goal, is still not the core of Barca's future frontcourt, but more of a top wingman and green leaf.
Judging from the completeness of the game and the degree of participation, the core of Barca's future has long been determined, that is, Pedri, who has only played 12 La Liga games for the team this season. Pedri has only played 12 La Liga games for his team due to injuries in the first half of the season, and the last game was absent due to injury, which led to season reimbursement.
But fans who have watched barca games should be able to find that Pedri is already an indispensable member of the midfield reception and transmission, and one of the makers of the team's frontcourt threat. In his last 12 games, Pedri has scored 3 goals and delivered 1 assist and 15 threatening passes, which is his biggest highlight and one of the things that sets him apart.
Although Pedri seems to be thin and difficult to become the core of the giants, in the current Barcelona, the core of the team cannot be Busquets nor Depay, let alone Dembele, who is about to expire his contract in the season, and the most core playing style and role are only 19-year-old Pedri.