Barcelona have struggled to break down their two opponents in La Liga so far, scoring just twice against Getafe and Cadiz. However Manager Xavi Hernandez has shown he is willing to adapt this season.
Last campaign the settled system of four midfielders, generally Gavi playing as a inverted forward, was a fixture for Xavi in the second half of the season. It brought solidity to the side and an ability to control matches.
However with Barcelona’s system now common knowledge sides have adapted to their movements, and Xavi was forced into changes against both Getafe and Cadiz in order to stay ahead of the game.
MD point out that in the latter stages of both games, Xavi used four forwards for the final stages, with Pedri and Ilkay Gundogan feeding them from behind. Ez Abde, Lamine Yamal, Ansu Fati and Lewandowski finished the match in Madrid, while at Montjuic, he added Ferran Torres to the fold in place of Yamal.
Barcelona also started the match with a new system, with all five of their key central midfielders included. Frenkie de Jong formed part of the back three with Jules Kounde and Andreas Christensen, while Pedri played ahead of a midfield including Gavi Oriol Romeu and Ilkay Gundogan. That worked out roughly as a 3-4-3, with Yamal and Alejandro Balde left the flanks for themselves.
One of the big debates for Xavi to settle this season is who gets the minutes in midfield. This is a way around it, but Cadiz did put together several very dangerous breaks, which would suggest that the system either needs significant fine tuning, or perhaps that it may not be adequate for sides carrying more offensive firepower.