Barcelona are a team well renowned for playing an encapsulating brand of football. The purists of the game have all fallen in love with the Blaugrana style of play at one point or the other, and that is simply because of the philosophies that the Catalans hold so dear.
However, with every advantage, there must come an equally damning weakness. The defensive rigidity of the Barcelona of last season has been replaced by a more potent attacking and creative team this season, at the expense of their own defensive reliability.
Balancing the fullbacks
Two key figures who make a huge difference in terms of defensive structure are Joao Cancelo and Alejandro Balde. The two fullbacks are integral to this Barcelona and Xavi in their own unique ways.
However, both of them are creative and engaging fullbacks, with neither of them being particularly pragmatic in their defensive approach.
For Xavi Hernandez, as highlighted by SPORT, this has been a particularly sour headache. To balance their offensive attributes, Xavi has instructed Balde to play with a bit more pragmatism.
Still an offensive fullback, the 19-year-old simply now starts a bit further back and is not as reckless about leaving his position completely unattended when making a darting run forward.
Cancelo, on the other hand, has also seen a change take place. Previously tucking into the midfield to play alongside the likes of Frenkie De Jong and Ilkay Gundogan, the Portuguese star now seems to be much more positionally restricted as a right-back.
Ever-changing defenders
However, the frequency with which Barcelona are conceding this season is not only attributed to the fullbacks. The reality is, given the various injuries and fatigue being involved, Xavi has thus far not been able to play his strongest defensive lineup too often next to each other.
Ronald Araujo, Jules Kounde, Alejandro Balde, and Joao Cancelo make up the four that would be Xavi’s ideal backline. With two offensively brilliant fullbacks and two defensively sound central defenders with the legs to cover spaces, Barcelona managed to come away with a clean sheet against Porto in the Champions League when Xavi played these four together.
Midfield control
Other changes within the setup, such as the removal of the false winger, have also possibly played their parts. With less control in midfield, Barca are often left vulnerable to counterattacks, and in those moments, Blaugranes feels cornered and on the back foot.
It will have to be seen if Xavi ends up tweaking his XI even more moving forward or simply chooses to change the personnel within his team.
Regardless of the final decision, Barcelona will want to regain their defensive protection from last season and ensure their confidence even when conceding counterattacks.
