Barça succumbed in its second outing in the Champions League. He fell in Munich and he fell in Milan. Unable to score a goal in 180 minutes, he is already forced to beat Inter to improve his scoring against his biggest rival in the standings and beat Bayern at the Camp Nou or Viktoria Pilsen away if he wants to depend on himself. Xavi made changes to the team to prevent the same result as in Munich. He did not get the purpose of it and left “pissed off” and “outraged” by “the injustice of Milan”.
Ineffective system change
Xavi tweaked the system, adapting it to the way Inter played. Total asymmetry on the field, with players at different heights and a square in the center to generate superiorities that never occurred. Raphinha positioned himself inside to leave the wing to Marcos Alonso and multiply himself as a winger (he very rarely had to go back so much) and as a winger (he very rarely reached the bottom line). Barça’s tactical defensive format was 4-3-3: Marcos closed at the back, Gavi was inside right and Raphinha opened up. Then the drawing was permanent.
Barça did not know how to move Inter to find any inside gap and, instead, Inter found spaces on the counterattack. He didn’t want the ball and didn’t mind backing away, waiting for an opportunity. With the 1-0 and at the break, Xavi returned to the origins. To the usual system in which players find each other more easily. He first changed the drawing and then the footballers.
Abuse of the center: 50 balls to the area
All attack balls used to end in the search for a center. The subconscious invites you to constantly search for Lewandowski. aware as they all are that he is the most decisive man. Dembélé didn’t give a good one; the best ended in the goal annulled by the hand of Ansu.
Nothing less than 50 centers launched Barça into the Onana area. Almost half (24) corresponded to Dembélé. Xavi’s instructions consisted of looking for one on one on the wings. The French always tried; Marcos tried it on the other side as a more open man and Raphinha later. Inter’s five defenders had more than enough to clear almost all of them.
Barça did not look for another alternative such as shots from outside the area. Yes, Inter tried. Çalhanoglu tried twice: the first time he forced Ter Stegen to take a corner; the second was a low shot adjusted to the post that the German goalkeeper did not reach, which he conceded again in the Champions League.
Worried about corners
Barça conceded three corner kicks in the first half. Avoiding Inter’s set pieces was one of Xavi’s biggest concerns. That’s where the team broke up in Munich. Inter finished them all, although badly. Barça launched 13. Thirteen more centers that were of no use against the interista towers, anchored in the area to clear any aerial ball.
Simone Inzaghi’s team, with little expectation, dealt only with taking advantage of an attack. And he took advantage of it. His fans did not blame the team for barely having possession 28% of the time, dominated from start to finish by the inoffensive Barça.