The 33-year-old Busquets is somewhat older, and his mistakes will gradually increase in the game, and his passes will not be so accurate. But at key moments, the veteran's idea of handling the ball is like a book, which makes people tired of reading it.
A world wave goal with a left foot made Busquets the protagonist of the game, but if you watch the game carefully, you will know that Busquets has always been an indispensable pillar of Barca in too many details.
01. Foul this thing: first use your brain
a. Busquets' wisdom: embodied in critical moments
Barca once again used Alves to start this game, his presence allowed the team to add a midfielder, and also freed de Jong to more forward insertion and no-ball running, allowing De Jong to play at a good level.
Alves, Busquets and Garvey control the centre-circle and Alba is also a very good passing starting point. The point is that once the team makes a mistake, Busquets and Alves, who have a strong sense of counter-grabbing of the second landing point, together with the mobile flexibility of Garvey, can form the best interception net.
Let's take a look at this wave of offensive and defensive transitions, when Alba's pass crossed de Jong's feet, Barca needed to counter-attack on the spot to make sure they didn't get a chance to counter-attack.
In this shot, Busquets is indeed getting older than the peak. At that time, Busquets had the ability to intercept the pass. But now it's a little hard for Him to ask Busquets to quickly stretch his feet on the move.
Then, through Pique's interception, Barca were given the opportunity to re-deploy. But the situation is still very dangerous, and this time if the Mallorca players are allowed to divide the ball and have a large space on the flank, Barca's formation will be very ugly.
Busquets' footballing wisdom is that he can always find the most reasonable time to foul. The cost of fouls from God's perspective is low, and referees generally don't feel that the problem is too serious, which also makes Busquets rarely get red and yellow cards.
After all, Busquets' foul moves are very restrained, interrupting the opponent's attack just right, and it doesn't seem to be too much malice and harm.
b. Although the movement is slow: Busquets is a defensive textbook
Statistically, Busquets won 9 of the 13 one-on-one matches, 4 steals and 1 interception, and created 2 fouls against the opponent. These data are the true embodiment of Busquets' daily work, and the goals are more of a surprise.
Busquets' strengths are his super high ball quotient, good physical flexibility, and a pair of beautiful long legs. Even when necessary, Busquets had various ways to win the support of the referee.
Just like this time the opponent was about to get a chance to counterattack, and as a result, Busquets intercepted just right, and then created a foul, allowing Barca to win a well-placed free kick opportunity, but depay did not play well.
Many fans are always complaining, Busquets turned slowly and chased back slowly, but he is still the first person in Barca's defensive data. Because in the retreat, Busquets' selection is really too good. Every time he moves, it is a living teaching case that is worth learning and studying from others.
Busquets' retreat this time was a bit slow, but after he was in place, the upper step and the extension of the foot was crucial. As a result, the Mallorca player with the ball can pass from a very small angle.
If forced to play the ball, it will also benefit Barca center-back Garcia. This is the value of Busquets' positioning and defensive moves.
Then when Alba pushed the opponent to the sideline, Busquets came out in time to stand on the opponent's possible return pass line. The road was strangled and the opponent could only continue to hold the ball, which also made Alba's job easier.
Seeing that the opponent was forced into a dead corner, Busquets moved closer in time to form a 2-for-1 situation. In the end, although he could not break the ball, he let the opponent push the ball out of the sideline by himself, and Barca won the sideline ball at the back.
In this wave of defense, Busquets's athleticism is indeed weak, but he always uses his strengths and avoids weaknesses, while giving his teammates the greatest convenience. For Alba and Garcia, they unwittingly benefited from Busquets' decision.
02. Player of the Game: Memphis Depay
Despite saying that Busquets contributed to the day-to-day defensive work, there was a beautiful goal. But as far as the game as a whole is concerned, the best is Depay.
In addition to scoring his first goal of breaking the ice and winning 7 of his 8 1-on-1 matches, Depay also had 2 steals and 3 key passes.
From the retreat position, Mallorca is more like a 541, with one of the strikers entering the midfield sequence, targeting the adducted Alves. At the same time, the middle road has always maintained a 3-man formation, surrounding Busquets, making it difficult for Barca to effectively advance the attack in the middle.
Because there is no commando winger in this game, the two wings are not threatening, the opponent is more daring to hoard heavy troops in the middle, and Barca's attack was once a bit difficult.
This time the opponent even followed Aubameyang all the way to the centre-back, but it also allowed Depay to find the opportunity to reverse the insertion.
Alba's pass was beautiful, and Depay used his personal ability to score a hockey ball and let the game get into Barca's rhythm.
Depay's style of play is not very suitable for Xavi's offensive mobility, but his personal ability is still the best presence in Barca's front. This time, the middle of the road was strong, and Depay's ability to do it at his feet could be seen, but unfortunately the final shot flew away.
03. If there is no goal: will you understand the strength of Busquets?
a. Three times the control of the opponent: more need for Busquets's "fuse"
As mentioned above, Busquets' foul cost control is very good, but this is just a smart choice under helplessness, and the real highlight is that he suddenly jams the opponent's counterattack speed when the attack and defense transition.
Especially when Barca have nearly 3 times the possession rate of the opponent, it will be very necessary to have a "fuse" like Busquets to help the team.
It can be clearly seen from the GIF that this time when De Jong inserted the penalty area to receive the cross, but after turning around and taking the ball unsuccessfully, the key was Busquets's interception at the first time, so that Barca would not be given the opportunity to counterattack.
b. Because of scoring: You will understand the defensive value of Busquets
Busquets has a high ball quotient, good physical flexibility, and a pair of beautiful long legs. Even when necessary, Busquets had various ways to win the support of the referee.
In fact, in the moment of the transmission, Busquets could not be seen in the picture. The problem was that the opponent's header was cleared and Mallorca was about to have a counter-attack opportunity, but Busquets killed in time to grab the ball.
He then paused and fired a left-footed blast into the goal, leaving an eternal classic moment.
The question is, without this goal, would you notice how many times Busquets controlled the second drop point in a game, allowing Barca to come out of the risk of being counter-attacked and get back into attack?
Too often, many fans talk about Busquets and only say that he has helped the attack. Statistics can also be seen that the player who has passed the most in the ribs in La Liga this season is Busquets.
The Barca back has a lot of passes on the left and right ribs, but don't overlook the value of Busquets in other aspects.
Conclusion:
Why is the 33-year-old Busquets still the main player of the team? De Jong, who can play at the back, is used as a fake striker in the box?
There is the helplessness of not being able to find a successor, and it is also because of Busquets' football, which is really difficult to be copied by others.