Osasuna arrived on the Spotify Camp Nou with a transparent plan in thoughts – to play a deep line of defense that annoyed Hansi Flick’s potent assault to no finish.
The guests, thus, performed a again line of three centre-backs and two full-backs who seemingly settled simply in entrance of the aim. Additional, they deployed two defensive midfielders proper in entrance of the five-man setup.
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Barcelona have been pressured to work exhausting to discover a approach via the compact defence, who have been very happy to park the bus, and couldn’t discover any breakthrough within the opening interval.
Raphinha, nonetheless, from outdoors the field within the seventieth minute at hand the staff the lead, and accomplished his brace, capitalising on an Osasuna error to seal the win for Barcelona.
Barça Common brings you three takeaways from Barcelona 2-0 Osasuna.
A blended experiment
Hansi Flick approached the sport in opposition to Osasuna with a – one which theoretically allowed him to play 4 of his greatest stars in tandem.
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The thought was to drop Fermin Lopez from the quantity 10 position and deploy Raphinha in that central place to play behind the striker. Lamine Yamal and Marcus Rashford, in the meantime, began on the 2 flanks.
Whereas the experiment sounded good in principle, what unfolded within the area was a very totally different story. In reality, Barcelona’s ahead line barely seemed fluid on the evening.
Raphinha didn’t have the impression the supervisor anticipated when taking part in centrally and appeared to have his wings lower off. Whereas it has all the time been clear that he has a future within the novel place, final evening maybe simply wasn’t his evening.
Raphinha’s return has been a blessing for Barcelona. (Photograph by Eric Alonso/Getty Photographs)
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The participant didn’t get entangled within the recreation practically as a lot as common, and the side of his counter-attacking risk was misplaced as he performed centrally. Rashford and Ferran, in the meantime, each had disappointing nights aside from a number of sensible moments.
The staff might nicely have gotten away with all three factors, however Flick will possible see it as an experiment gone unsuitable. He should discover an alternate dynamic, maybe switching Lamine centrally and permitting Raphinha on the suitable wing, the place he naturally shines.
Who’s Barcelona’s greatest CB now?
Pau Cubarsi, for a very long time, has held the crown as Barcelona’s chief in defence and rightfully so. In spite of everything, doing what he’s doing on the age of 18 is spectacular, and he has been rock-solid for the higher a part of his time within the first staff.
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This season, nonetheless, has seen him barely dip in high quality, which is comprehensible given his age and the stress of taking part in on the highest degree. Now, nonetheless, it is usually time one begin asking oneself who the staff’s greatest performing defenders are.
Gerard Martin initially seemed to be a stopgap resolution within the division, however with every passing recreation, he continues to determine himself as a severe contender to be the primary identify on the staff sheet.
Final evening, Martin once more outshone Cubarsi with eight defensive contributions, 4 interceptions, 5 recoveries, a clearance, and three duels gained. He additionally accomplished 96% of his passes and racked up a staggering 97 passes.
For a very long time now, Cubarsi has been seen because the default in Barcelona’s defence, however the method wherein Barcelona closed the sport raises a severe query about whether or not the Eric Garcia-Gerard Martin mixture can show simpler.
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It could appear queer seeing these names forward of the likes of Ronald Araujo, Andreas Christensen, and Cubarsi, however they’ve greater than earned the suitable to be referred to as Barcelona’s greatest defenders in the mean time.
The stress on Actual Madrid
Actual Madrid are in full and utter disarray, and Barcelona have made essentially the most of their alternative to up the stress on Xabi Alonso’s aspect.
All eyes shall be on Xabi Alonso after Barcelona win. (Photograph by Angel Martinez/Getty Photographs)
Heading into an away conflict in opposition to Deportivo Alaves later tonight, Actual Madrid at the moment are seven factors behind Barcelona, and the circumstances aren’t of their favour.
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The staff continues to look dysfunctional, Xabi Alonso’s job is on the road, and the supervisor is with no single beginning full-back for tonight’s conflict.
What’s worse is that the likes of Antonio Rudiger, Federico Valverde, and Kylian Mbappe are all both in discomfort or have simply recovered, whereas Dean Huijsen can be coming off an extended layoff.
There’s, thus, severe stress on the staff that has misplaced its final two video games, and any slip-up shall be celebrated with pomp in Catalonia. In spite of everything, a seven-point lead so near the brand new 12 months could be completely huge.