He FC Barcelona They lost more than necessary in the goalless draw with Athletic Club in San Mamés. First of all, the team Xavi Hernandez missed the opportunity to close the gap with the leader Real Madrid. Furthermore, he suffered injuries from Pedri and Frenkie de Jong, two important players in the scheme. According to medical reports, the Blaugrana footballers will be off the field for more than a month, so the ‘culé’ coach is obliged to restructure his team’s midfield and attack. What tactical changes will he make?
In recent games, Xavi had found a formula that gave his team more consistency (he won four of his last seven games). The coach was playing with a midfielder on the wing and Andreas Christensen on the pivot. Now, with the injuries of the Spaniard and the Dutchman, undisputed starters, the team will undergo modifications.
At the moment, Barça has four midfielders, in addition to Christensen, who are playing in the midfield: İlkay Gündoğan, Fermin Lopez, Oriol Romeu, Sergi Roberto. One of these four must occupy the two remaining places left. The German is a starter and is the leader of the midfield this season, although without Pedri or De Jong he will have to delay his position and will lose impact in the offensive zone.
The remaining position will be disputed Sergi and Fermin, since the coach sees Romeu more as a pivot. In San Mamés, the Barça coach first opted for Fermín on the wing, but making sacrifices. When Pedri was injured, he went down to the midfield and Lamine Yamal went up and the coach decided to play with two wingers alongside striker Robert Lewandowski.
In the second half of the match, Xavi brought in Joao Felixwhich entered through Raphinha. The Portuguese is another alternative to play inside. In that sense, a variant that will also soon be available will be Ferran Torres, who is already finishing his recovery. The ‘Shark’ was having a good moment until he was injured, but he hopes to reach the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 against Napoli.
What is Barcelona’s next game?
After drawing 0-0 with Athletic Club, the Blaugrana team is getting ready for its next challenge. As part of matchday 28 of LaLiga, Barça will host Mallorca at the Montjuic Olympic Stadium. The match is scheduled for Friday, March 8 at 3:00 in the afternoon (Peruvian time) and will be broadcast on the ESPN and STAR Plus signal.
As reflected in the LaLiga standings, FC Barcelona is in third place with 58 points, one behind second (Girona) and eight away from reaching leader Real Madrid. It should be remembered that Barcelona is the defending champion of the title. Under the leadership of Xavi Hernández, they won LaLiga 2022-23 with 88 points, 10 more than Real Madrid, their closest pursuer. Unfortunately, for the interests of the Catalan team, the situation this season is different.
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