VuIencIu z-z BurceIonu: Emery geLs

LIe beLLer oI GuurdIoIu eurIy on, buL

Burcu IIgIL buck
September 22, 2011


The Iirst halI line-ups
Cesc Fabregas` goal secured a point Ior Barcelona, but they were the weaker side in the Iirst halI.
Unai Emery tried his trick Irom last season against Barcelona, Iielding two leIt-backs in Jeremy Mathieu and
Jordi Alba down the leIt, in order to deal with the Iorward runs oI Dani Alves. Jonas dropped out accordingly,
and Bruno Saltor was replaced by Miguel.
Pep Guardiola went Ior a 4-3-3ish shape, albeit with Alves pushed very high up the pitch. David Villa was
only on the bench.
Valencia dominated the Iirst halI by doing two things well Iirst, pressing Barcelona, squeezing the play and
Iorcing the away side into errors in possession. Second, by attacking Barca in behind Alves and creating three
good chances through this route.
The battle down Alves` side
This was the key Iactor in the game. Emery`s double leIt-back strategy had worked well at the Camp Nou last
year Valencia scored with a break through Mathieu, and were 1-0 up at halI time until Barca staged a
second halI comeback. The idea, oI course, is that because Alves` runs are so dangerous, by Iielding a
deIensively-aware player on the leIt oI midIield, you have a player who is comIortable tracking back to his
own deIensive line.
OI course, iI you`re Alves, you`re going to test this as much as possible to try and Iorce Valencia`s players
towards their own goal. ThereIore, Alves played high up the pitch, on the right-hand touchline, to push
Mathieu deeper and deeper. The problem was, Mathieu was Valencia`s biggest threat going Iorward. He
constantly broke Iorward and exploited the space in behind Alves, setting up two goals and producing a third
great chance, where Roberto Soldado missed an open goal. But how could he do this, iI he was meant to be
tracking Alves?
Guardiola`s error
Well, as it turned out, he wasn`t. Pedro seemed to start on the right wing but quickly switched the leIt, and the
rest oI Barcelona`s Iluid Iront three consisted oI Lionel Messi playing a Ialse nine role, and Cesc Fabregas
buzzing about between the lines. Barcelona were essentially playing with no right-winger, and thereIore
Alves didn`t need to be watched by Mathieu Jordi Alba could deal with him perIectly well. AIter all, it`s
not like you particularly need to double up on Alves, you simply need someone who can track his run.
Barcelona had no winger to bring Alba inside, and thereIore he could track Alves.
Mathieu, then, was Iree to bomb Iorward. This dragged almost Barcelona`s entire team out oI shape. Javier
Mascherano had to come across to right-back, then Carles Puyol had to shuIIle over, then Eric Abidal had to
move to centre-back, Irom where he scored an own goal, then made an error Ior the second, scored by Pablo
Hernandez coming in at the back post. With Abidal coming inside, Hernandez had to be dealt with by Seydou
Keita, whilst Sergio Busquets tried to drop in and help out in the centre oI deIence too. Barcelona were
essentially having a chain oI Iour players (plus Busquets) all trying to cover the position vacated by another.
This had an impact higher up Xavi Hernandez was leIt on his own (and what is Xavi without short passing
options?) and there was no connection Irom deIence to midIield. Barcelona`s only hope oI a goal was a Messi
ball through to Fabregas or Pedro, and that`s where their Iirst goal arrived Irom, through the latter.
Elsewhere, Valencia were coping well in midIield. Hernandez tucked in and played narrow, picking up Keita
to make up the numbers in midIield, saIe in the knowledge Abidal wouldn`t be attacking much. Adil Rami
was Iortunate not to get a second booking Ior bringing down Messi, but was otherwise impressive in coming
up the pitch to him and Fabregas, largely keeping them quiet.
Second half

The second halI line-ups
Guardiola had to change things Ior the second period, and he did. Pedro came to the right, with Fabregas
initially Iloating in Irom the leIt. Alves was told to stay at right-back and not attack at all, and Barcelona kept
it tight Ior the Iirst ten minutes oI the second halI. Emery brought on Tino Costa to replace David Albelda,
who had been excellent but had picked up an injury.
The story oI the second halI is best told through substitutions and the resulting Iormation changes.
Guardiola made two substitutions. Adriano came on Ior Pedro, playing on the right-hand side. This was a
slightly surprising move, and meant that there were Iour Iull-backs (Adriano, Alves, Mathieu, Alba) all down
the same Ilank. Villa also came on Ior Keita, with Fabregas dropping deeper.
2 With Barca enjoying more possession than in the Iirst halI, Guardiola Ielt able to make a more attacking
move. Thiago Alcantara came on Ior Puyol. This could have meant Busquets going to centre-back, but in Iact
he shuttled between a centre-back position and a holding role. When Barca had the ball, he was in midIield,
with a lopsided back three oI Alves, Mascherano and Abidal behind.
3 Seeing that Busquets was attempting to play ahead oI the deIence, Emery took oII Canales and brought on
a support striker, Jonas, who could get Iorward and link up with Soldado, thereIore pushing Busquets back.
Jonas wasn`t particularly good at this role, however, and Barca dominated possession to allow Busquets into
midIield.
Now Barcelona were using Alves very deep almost as a right-sided centre-back plus had Adriano
ahead, not the greatest attacking threat (although he was key in this Iixture last year) Emery could put on a
true winger down that side. Pablo Piatti arrived, in place oI Mathieu who had tired. Valencia were trying to
win the game.
The Iormations then looked like the diagram above. Barcelona in a 3-4-3 diamondish shape like they
used against Villarreal, with Valencia a 4-2-3-1 with an oIIensive tilt.
How did Barcelona get back into the game? Their dominance oI possession was key, with a slight overload in
the centre oI midIield. Messi came into that zone unmarked and played some superb passes, including the
assist Ior Fabregas, and later slid a great ball out to Villa on the leIt. Valencia tired, as they have done a
couple oI times this season, and Iailed to put pressure on the man on ball late on, allowing Barcelona to pass
their way through the deIence. In the Iinal moments, it was the home side hanging on.
Conclusion
Emery won the pre-match tactical battle, but Guardiola used his substitutions more wisely to get back into the
game.
It was surprising to see Barca so vulnerable early on, and maybe Guardiola got a little carried away with
Alves` abilities. He has the energy to cover the Ilank by himselI, but that doesn`t mean he can be used 2 v 1
because one oI the players will get goalside oI him and break quickly. He needs a wide player ahead oI him
who will come inside and open up space.
Emery should be praised Ior his starting tactics, as well as some brave substitutions late on to try and Iorce
Barca back. Ultimately Messi`s quality was the biggest Iactor in getting the away side back into the game
and there`s no shame in that. Ultimately, this was a tactical victory Ior Emery.