The ‘new’ Barça of Xavi (the one with four midfielders) showed muscle against Villarreal. He took the three points after a closely contested match, though possession was given away, against a good team from seven that he wanted the ball and played it well, and he didn’t give up until the final whistle.
One of the keys to the match at La Cerámica was what the team did intense and organized pressurewhich was well executed by both the midfield men and the forwards.
With a strong defense, midfielders feel more confident and press the opponent into their creation zone with the certainty that they are playing with a net. In addition, they have great help from the forward, converted to the first defenders. Too much Gavi number raphinha and above all, Lewandowski These are players who roll up their sleeves and don’t drop their rings for putting pressure on them.
It was true against Villarreal that ‘Xavineta’ suffered in the end. There was a lack of purpose that provided calmness and avoided last minutes of stress. But, unlike the first games of the season, This Barça knows how to defend and that “oops, oops, oops they’re going to put it on us in the end” gave way to a “don’t worry, Araujo’s here.”
Saving the differences, this Barça has a certain resemblance to Terry Venables of the 1984-85 season. That team had to be rebuilt after Maradona’s departure and the English coach brought about a tactical revolution with the presentation of suffocating pressure on the opponent in his creation zone. The crack is gone, but that team knows how to find the style that propelled him into the air in an unmistakable way. The winning formula is having a good goalkeeper (Urruti), a good defense (with Alexanko and Migueli in the defensive axis), a very competitive midfield with Schuster, Víctor and Calderé, and technical forwards but gave many problems like Wolf Carrasco or Steve Archibald. That team won the League, leading from day one to the last.
After the matchday 21 dispute, Xavi’s Barça lead Real Madrid by 11 points (although there is still a game to play). In 84-85, at this point they ‘only’ had 8 to Atlético and 9 to Real. The Barça of Ter Stegen, Araujo, Pedri, Gavi, De Jong, Lewandowski and company are running fast.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
