Coming back to La Liga after the 4-0 win over Ajax on Wednesday, FC Barcelona head to Madrid to face a lackluster Rayo Vallecano.
Although the capital team started off the league with a 3-0 win over Elche, the following three rounds were resounding defeats including a couple of 5-0 losses away from home against Atlético Madrid and Málaga. So how will they manage against the Catalans?
FC Barcelona go into this fixture on the back of a good Champions League game, where the weaknesses of the first half were addressed for a more dominating second. The weaknesses being some gaps that had allowed Ajax to threaten Valdés’ goal, and also an indecisiveness up front. The Dutch threat on goal continued, although the pressure and ball possession grew for Barça; however, the biggest improvement showed in the scoring of the three second half goals.
Rayo is not on the same level of Ajax, but they also don’t have Ajax’s quick, and one-touch players, so there are high chances that they will congest their own area to block Barcelona’s way forward, and only strike on the counter.
While Tata is attending his late father’s funeral, assisstant coach Jorge Pautasso took his first press conference today, and said something on the line of Levante being the only team in Spain so far to play Barça with the courage to attack. He also said that they are developing more and more ways to counter closed team formations.
These are good words. We still managed to overcome those matches’ hurdles, even though we only managed to draw twice against Atlético Madrid to win the Supercopa on away goals. The main trouble is how we conceded two goals in quick succession in successive La Liga matches against Valencia and then Sevilla. Those moments of carelessness, or moments of easing on tracking back or pressing forwards, are the reasons for our worries. Our style of play has many drawbacks, which include the vast spaces at the back that are only covered by one defensive player at times. The only way to remedy this drawback is by constant and total focus, which Barça does better than any other team. However, any slip up is a likely chance on goal by the opposition.
So when we critique our players, it’s not that they are not good. It is because at that moment, they were not at the level of what their strategy requires. Against Rayo Vallecano, it will be best to penetrate the defensive congestion as early as possible, with as much attempts on target to try to open up the field. Easier said than done against a backwall, but this is what we expect from an ever improving FC Barcelona.
Read more: http://www.totalbarca.com/2013/matches/match-preview-rayo-vallecano-vs-fc-barcelona-2/#ixzz2fYFdqUEo
