After the setback against Girona, Barça wants to finish the group stage of the Champions League with a victory against Antwerp that definitively grants first place. That would serve to park the European competition and wait for next Monday’s draw in a favorable position. In addition, it is a good game to catch your breath. Here my keys for this meeting:
Sunday’s disappointment and the fact that Xavi has not found the key, make today’s match more important than it would have under other circumstances. The Barça team has to play a complete game and offer the most forceful performance possible. A match in which, a priori, Balde, Fermín and Lamine Yamal will be starters and in which they will have a favorable context to gain importance in the team. Especially in the case of Bucket. And it is an important match to be able to vindicate himself after the team’s new tactical format has left him out to pass Cancelo to the left. Regardless of whether Xavi decides to maintain the new frame with a long winger and a short winger or if he decides to play today with two offensive wingers, Balde will do so on the left. It will be important for him to be daring to step into the final third and to show that he also has the quality to unbalance from the outside.
In the first leg, Barça found the entry spaces very well between the team’s full-backs and centre-backs. Something that the Catalans will have to repeat again and again tonight. Above all, with the interiors of the far side to take advantage of the magnetism that the ball always has for the defenders. Fermín is a specialist detecting these spaces. They will be productive actions to get the game and first place back on track.
Continuing with the theme of the distances that the Antwerp defense leaves, another of the factors that the team can influence are deep passes. And specifically, the passes to the hole. Whether between lateral and center back or between center backs. It will be important for potential receivers (wide forwards or deep backs) to start wide to close in and make it easier for the passer. Ferran Torres usually reads this aspect well.
Recovering the feeling of not fitting in would be important for the team’s confidence. Even more so, after the four goals conceded and knowing that Iñaki Peña will be responsible for defending the three sticks for many games. To do this, Barça will have to eliminate the small defensive errors that end up being decisive (distances, coverage, overtaking the opponent, taking care of one’s own back and that of one’s teammate, not conceding…). An ideal day to start an improvement that is essential.
Arthur Vermeeren is, without a doubt, the player with the greatest potential on this team. Potential for the future but also for the present. The footballer, only 18 years old, is very dynamic and complete. With 51.9 appearances per game, he is the midfielder who participates the most in the Belgian team by quite a bit. He has four assists and a goal between the Jupiler Pro League and the Champions playing as a pivot in Van Bommel’s 4-2-3-1. His good work has meant that several big teams have already noticed him. It is also necessary to talk about Balikwisha. The young attacker (22 years old) is a dangerous piece with spaces. And he has a goal. He registers six goals and five assists in all competitions
