The Barça coach opted to line up four midfielders: Busquets, De Jong, Pedri and Gavi
De Jong stood almost parallel to facilitate the ball out and Pedri played as a false left winger to create superiorities
Xavi has surprised us”. Ernesto Valverde could not have been more sincere at the end of the match when analyzing the tactical novelties that the Barça coach raised against Athletic. And it wasn’t just the rojiblanco coach who was surprised. Xavi surprised everyone by dispensing with a winger to place a midfielder four.
The one from Terrassa opted for Sergio Busquets, Frenkie de Jong, Gavi and Pedri together for the first time since occupying the Blaugrana bench. There was no change of system, Barça continued to compete with that 4-3-3 house brand, but with some nuances that dismantled the Bilbao team.
De Jong’s position further back, almost in parallel with Busquets, facilitated the exit of the ball and dismantled Athletic’s pressure to create offensive superiority in transitions. And Ousmane Dembélé took advantage of this, who, in the race and with spaces ahead, is a footballer who wreaks havoc on rival defenses.
The other nuance was to place Pedri as a false left winger. The man from Tenerife tended to go towards the center to create superiority in midfield, release Robert Lewandowski and leave the lane completely clear for the additions of Alejandro Balde. Pedri participated less than on other occasions, but he opened spaces for his teammates with his facility to interpret everything that happens around him.
Nothing changed with Gavi’s injury. The one from Los Palacios retired with the match resolved (3-0) and his place was taken by Franck Kessie. He could have chosen Xavi at a pure winger, taking into account that Ferran Torres, Ansu Fati and Raphinha were on the bench. But the Blaugrana coach reinforced his bet with the Ivorian, in that almost second-point position to which Gavi is adapting so well to generate superiorities in the rival area.
Barça dominated the game, as their coach likes, and the Camp Nou enjoyed the ‘revolution’. A ‘revolution’ that we will see if it is here to stay.