Matchday eighth of La Liga brought us a thrilling contest between Barcelona and Sevilla at the Camp Nou. And while the scoreline might suggest the Catalans demolished their Andalusian counterparts, in reality, the two teams were quite evenly matched throughout the clash.
This tactical analysis will aim to reveal both teams’ tactics and bring you analysis of how Barcelona ended up snatching all three points on the night despite struggling immensely.
Lineups
Not much has changed in the Catalan camp. Ernesto Valverde went with his usual tactics and deployed the team in a 4-3-3 system. There were two major exclusions to their usual starting lineup, however, as Sergio Busquets and Antoine Griezmann both moved to the bench and Arturo Vidal and Ousmane Dembélé took their spot respectively.
On the other side of the pitch, Julen Lopetegui deployed the Sevilla squad in a 4-4-1-1 formation that was later on transformed into a 3-4-3. But the Andalusians had a complete revamp as far as their squad went since they used a lot of reserve players in the mid-week Europa League clash with APOEL.
But they were mostly in their strongest lineup when they arrived at the Camp Nou with no notable absences in their midsts.
Sevilla’s defence and Barcelona’s adaptation
Lopetegui’s teams are quite famous for their relentless pressing and possession style football. In many ways, they have similar values to the ones Barcelona hold high on their pedestal. And true to their coach’s reputation, Sevilla went out guns blazing with an aggressive approach to the game.
To read the full tactical analysis of this match – click here
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