Barça faces a very complicated challenge, playing for a place in the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey at the home of one of the teams in the best form of the championship, Athletic Club. The match will have everything and will require an improved version of the Barça team. Here are my 5 tactical keys:
The match against Betis showed a clear improvement from Barça, especially with the ball. It was not a complete match due to the two goals conceded in specific plays, but the Barça team was much more fluid with the ball and withstood the transitions better. And, among several good performances, the names of Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsí stood out. The first was the attacking player who generated the most and the centre-back, who made his debut as a starter, left a magnificent performance. He highlighted his judgment in getting the ball out and his clairvoyance in finding the free man in an unnatural profile (the left one). San Mamés is a stage that still imposes more than Villamarín and the pressure from Athletic is more intense than that of Betis but, due to football merits, they would have to repeat. It is unknown if Xavi will repeat an eleven that worked or will bring on Cancelo and/or Christensen. Both have entered the call.
The San Mamés game is a day to be good at launching the ball and breaking into space because Athletic is a super team in high pressure. He has legs, character and energy to spare. They always tend to do it man to man, so the Barça defenders and midfielders must be very fine in technical actions and very good in support movements. But that also means that Athletic will leave many meters behind its defense. In fact, with 33% of the time, the lions are the team in the League that spends the most time in the final third of the field. Furthermore, we must add the factor that none of the defenders are fast. In Montjuïc, Barcelona’s winning goal was created just like that and all the teams have created problems in this way. So it is important that the forwards are active to break diagonally and the potential passers are active to reciprocate the good movements.
Valverde’s Athletic never dismantles the defense of four, whatever the rival’s offensive structure is. So everything leads to think that tonight he will do exactly the same. In this case, there is a movement that can do them a lot of damage: the short diagonal breaks of the midfielders located behind the line of three forwards. With the opposing defenders paired and without the possibility of abandoning marks to go for help, a dive into short space will be impossible to stop because the entire advantage will go to the player who starts facing forward. Barça has to continually exploit him when he is in the opposing half.
Another aspect to be exploited by Barça involves a specific finishing area: the far post. And one of Athletic’s defensive mechanisms when the rival arrives from the wing is to make the distant players swing a lot, both full-backs and midfielders. The priority is to protect the potential shooting spaces close to the goal very well, but that means leaving the far post very free. So Barça will have to know that, every time they can go deep from the outside, the passed centers will be the best.
Athletic’s most dangerous player is the fast Nico Williams. The winger is one of the most outstanding players in the championship and a very powerful piece when the lions can run in transition. In addition, he also dribbles from a standing position, usually starting from the left. So the hard work will be for Balde. With three goals and five assists, he is the top assistant on Valverde’s team. But if we talk about football, the most complete player is Oihan Sancet. Offensive midfielder with presence, good footing and great arrival. He has three goals and four assists. And, finally, highlight Berenguer. The non-presence of Iñaki Williams in the African Cup has given him the start in the last four games and he has responded. He has scored two of the six goals that Athletic has scored in this stretch of games.
