Barcelona appointed Xavi Hernandez in order to rediscover their fine footballing philosophy, yet in his first few games in charge it is the results that stand out more than the performances.
While the Blaugrana have improved in certain aspects, the defence still looks vulnerable and the attack still struggles to finish off easy chances.
The derby against Espanyol was won in dubious circumstances while only Haris Seferovic‘s late miss spared them defeat in Europe, and it required a late surge at the Estadio de la Ceramica to wrap up the points.
However, winning away at Villarreal is no mean feat, and the character shown by Xavi’s side deserves plenty of credit
The refereeing performance of Soto Grado and that of the VAR man, Del Cerro Grande, left much to be desired from the first minute. Dani Parejo could have been dismissed for an awful stamp on Sergio Busquets, whilst a penalty should have been awarded for Gerard Pique handling the ball in the penalty area.
With each passing day it becomes clearer that Memphis Depay isn’t the man to put Barcelona’s entire attack on his back. The Dutchman has qualities, but he is very inconsistent and is clearly not a great finisher. He appears promising in matches against poor opponents, but then fails on the bigger stages. His first-half miss is unforgivable.
Xavi Hernandez needs a right winger, and he may well have found it in Abde Ezzalzouli. The La Masia graduate was a surprise starter against Villarreal and fans were surprised by his good work when it came to taking defenders on. He was very comfortable and was one of Barcelona’s most dangerous players throughout the match. He hit the post with a shot and started the move which culminated in Frenkie de Jong’s goal.
This is a big comparison to make, but there was a lot of Abde’s skill-set which reminded us of Pedro.
This may be the worst season Marc-Andre ter Stegen has had since he signed for Barcelona. However, in recent matches he is beginning to look like the goalkeeper who would always make a couple of decisive saves in every match.
He is also making the occasional miracle save from time to time, with examples of these coming against both Espanyol and Villarreal.
The first half was hell for Eric Garcia, with the defender being forced to play on the right and Villarreal could sense his insecurity.
Just over 60 percent of the hosts’ attacks came through the wing which Garcia was positioned on, and it can’t be ignored that the man responsible for this tactical decision was Xavi. He lacked the tactical acumen to rectify this situation on the fly, and the results were almost catastrophic.
At half-time he made changes so that it was more difficult for Villarreal to target and overrun Garcia, and this proved successful.
It was a good night for Gavi, who is now getting used to the position on the wing. He can overlap and put in good crosses.
Source: Marca
