After a tough night at El Sadar, Barcelona takes home all the 3 points from a challenging match against Osasuna. The hosts’ resilient defense posed a lot of difficulties for the Blaugranes to get through, but Lewandowski’s penalty essentially grinded out the victory for the Catalan team.
Barca News Network brings you 3 talking points from the hard-fought victory against Osasuna on the 4th matchday of the 2023/24 La Liga campaign.
1. A hard-fought victory
We cannot accuse Barcelona of producing a spectacular game, however, what is important that all the 3 points have been collected by Xavi’s men. The Blaugranes struggled once again against a rigid low-block, while Arrasate’s men caused some issues applying pressure on the Catalan defense with their aggressive style higher up the pitch at times.
Looking at the statistics, Barcelona deservedly won based on the expected goals metric which measures the quality of the team’s created chances. Based on Fotmob’s numbers, Barcelona created an xG of 2.00 while conceding just 0.77, which would indicate a comfortable victory from the Catalans.
However, if we take into account that 0.83 came from that 1′ minute chance which started from an offside that obviously shouldn’t count and there was a penalty which has an xG value of 0.79, it means that the Catalans only accumulated 0.38 xG beside, underlining the fact that Osasuna brilliantly closed down Barcelona’s attacking attempts for majority of the game.
It was undoubtedly a tough night for Barcelona, however, the big team’s force is shown best whether they can win such tight duels as well, and the team has done just that. As Gavi also admitted after the game that “If we played this match two years ago, we would have lost.”
The 19-year-old homegrown midfielder who just made his 100th appearance for the club also added: “This is a very difficult stadium and we have improved a lot with the coach. In such tough pitches now we take the victory. We have learned that.”
2. De Jong continues to shine
After refusing to leave Catalonia last summer, Frenkie de Jong has established himself as one of the most important players of Xavi’s team. Last season, when he was missing from Barcelona’s first XI, the Catalans struggled to prevail and produce appropriate performances and results as well.
The Dutchman continued his excellent form in the new season too, and he even increased his importance with the departure of Sergio Busquets from the heart of the midfield. De Jong has now become the number one progressive outlet when playing out from the back, initiating buildups, and creating from a deeper position.
Against Osasuna, he produced some magnificent numbers again. 135 touches, 107 passes completed with a 93% accuracy, 17 passes into the final third, 2/2 successful dribbles, 3/4 long balls completed, 4/9 ground duels won, 0.48 expected assists, 0.11 expected goals created, and a well-deserved man of the match award to crown yet another monstrous performance from the Dutchman.
3. Debutants
After being signed on the transfer deadline day, both Joao Cancelo and Joao Felix made their debut against Osasuna. The former joined from reigning European champions Manchester City on a one-year loan, while the latter, one of the most expensive signings in recent history, from Atletico Madrid, similarly arrived on loan for just a year.
Yesterday, Xavi decided not to start any of them from the starting whistle, but both were subbed in later on in the game. In the 59′ minute, Cancelo stepped on the pitch, and his impact was immediately palpable. A magnificent trivela cross for Lewandowski nearly earned him his first assist, while his inclusion helped ball retention on the right side of the field a lot as well.
In the 80′ minute, Joao Felix also made his first appearance for Barcelona. An extremely talented forward from whom they expect a lot at the club, wasn’t involved too much which could be associated to the lack of minutes or his role too as he was often found far on the left, a position he doesn’t really excel in. Xavi must find his best role to unleash his true potential.
Last but not least, Inigo Martínez also played his first game as a Blaugrana, coming on for Christensen in the extra time. Was imperious in defence and showed no mercy in his aggressive defending, which got him in a situation where he nearly gave away a penalty in the dying minutes of the game. Need to see more of him to judge fairly, though.
