Barca has got their first clean sheet in this season. And the credit goes to the defence and TER STEGAN, the saviour. He has done an extraordinary job under the post. We should thank Semedo also because of his performance as a left-back after forced substitution of Alba.

And Barca has played with their dream front line today, i.e., MSG. Though the trio could not change the score sheet, they have played pretty well and the sharpness they have shown was pretty decent. And today Ansu Fati has also made his UCL Debut and contributed with a great performance in front of the opposition crowd.

Another positive outcome of this match is the performance of Rakitic. He has come into the pitch at 59′ onwards and he really kept his mark today. After nearly a year, the Barca fans could experience the Rakitic, they would love to see.

In the 4th round of La Liga, we have seen Valencia against Barca at Camp Nou. Barca played extraordinary having the most wanted midfield from the fan-base i.e., De Jong-Busi-Arthur and Carlos Perez-Griezman-Ansu Fati in their attacking. From the very first second of the match, the home team has started high pressing high possession game. And they have got their 1st goal from the rising star Ansu Fati. And till 25 minutes of the match, they kept attacking and they have checked the score sheet again at 7′ . After 25′, Valencia started to come back into the match and they have succeeded and scored a goal on 27′. The rest of the game was pretty the same.

Now, if we come to the strategy from Valverde, we would realize that the coach has started a marvelous midfield combination with a very young attacking trio. No doubt, he succeeded in this match. But the doubt is whether the team has come back from a bad patch or the same team remains and this was just another home match where Blaugranas have shown their master class only because of home advantage.

What do you think??

Today Barca met the West London Club on 23 July, 2019 in their first match in the season 2019-20. Barca have lost for 2-1 in the match but there are some good points came out from this match.

The starting XI of the Catalan side was not fully expected because the next Busquets from La Masia has started in Right Back position and regular right-back Sergi Roberto has started as a Box to Box midfielder along with Busquets as CDM and Puig as AM. And the attacking trio has been undergone with some experiment. The Basque coach has started with Collado as Left Winger, a rising potential from the B team along with Griezman and Dembele. The defence was pretty obvious. Pique, Umititi, Alba have started in that department while the first team keeper Ter Stegan has started under the post.

After completion of the first half, the Catalan side made a total change in the team and brought Neto in the last defence line, who was pretty average in this match. Semedo and Guillem have been brought as two lateral back keeping Todibo and Lenglet two centre backs while De Jong made his debut as CDM along with Alena and Rakitic as CM and AM. The coach has notably changed the attacking department bringing Rafinha in the false 9 position and keeping Malcom and Carles Perez two wingers and this trio is the best attainment of the day. All of them have been remarkable through the rest of the match.

Other positive sides of the team:

1. Guillem as Left Back: The fans have been worried since the last season about the perfect replacement of Jordi Alba who has been the king of the left side in the team since the departure of Abidal. They have seen a great talent coming up from their own academy today.
2. Oriol Busquets as right back: The whole football world knows that this man has the potential to be the perfect replacement of Sergio Busquets. But after the arrival of De Jong in the team, few fans have been shattered thinking that the club will sell him to the other clubs. But today we have seen a great approach from the coach that he has tried another role for the world-class potential. For me, that is nothing but trying to keep the player in the club and using the best out of him.
3. De Jong performance: During previous seasons, the whole world has experienced the elegance of this magician in midfield. So none had doubt about his success in his new team. But even the greatest showman in the earth needs perfect ambience from him. That was the only worry. But De Jong has passed that test with letter marks in his pocket. So the Blaugranas need not worry till his presence in the club.
4. Puig & Alena’s performance: The fans have been watching them from a few seasons and the latter player has been promoted to the first team while the former one is going to follow the step of his friend. Both have showcased their talent in the pre-season match and Puig has provided an outstanding performance just like the previous year pre-season journey. So it is very much clear that the duo will be a great asset for the team.
5. Rafinha as false 9: Rafinha and his brother Thiago has been knocking the first team door since the Pep Guardiola era. But unlike the elder son of Mazinho, legendary midfielder of Brazil national team, Rafinha has been failed to keep his consistency throughout the seasons. Unlike other rising talents, who have lost the path, he got enough chance to prove himself and he succeeded also. But injury-prone player could not complete successive two seasons in his career at his pick. But every time he got chance, he proved himself as an Attacking Midfielder, as a Right Winger and today as a False 9 player. He was superb throughout the second half and he assured the fans that he is not finished yet.
6. Carles Perez as Left Winger: After Pedro Rodriguez, Barca has not got any attacking player in the starting XI from their youth system. But this player has shown the potential. If the club can groom the talent, this man can fulfil the lacuna. But he needs time and he has to work out on his finishing because a Barca winger must be one of the greatest finishers in his time.
7. Griezmannnnnnnn: Now coming to the most awaited part, the expensive buy. No, he is not going to be a failure like Coutinho. He has shown his promises today and he has shown that he can easily be a part of the team. He has shifted his position rapidly throughout his game to gain the ball, to press the opponent, to create chances. And the most important part is that he is an absolutely unselfish player. He has let Dembele go to the scoring position several times and he created chances for several times.

So let’s hope for the best. And tomorrow I will be coming with the detailed analysis about the probable starting line up of the Team for the upcoming season.

The European football season 2019-20 is going to be very crucial for each and every club from top buyer clubs to the bottom table clubs. This year, most of the clubs have been aware of spending money. But Barca has spent a lot and for that, they had to take a loan of 35 Million Euro to sign Griezman. According to the loan clause, they have to repay the same in six months period. So they have to go for some expensive sells to settle down and moreover, to get their dream player of this season, Neymar. Now, let’s take a look at the current team-

Goal Keeper: Ter Stegan, Neto.

Center Back: Pique, Todibo, Lenglet, Umititi

Lateral Full Back: Semedo, Alba, Roberto (makeshift midfielder)

CM/CDM: Busquets, De Jong, Arthur, Rakitic, Vidal.

AM: Coutinho (makeshift LW), Alena, Puig, Rafinha.

Forward: Messi, Dembele, Suarez, Griezman, Malcom.

So it is clear, that even if Barca do not sign Neymar, they will have 4 world-class attackers, and they have to choose at least 3 between them. So, according to me, Messi-Griezman-Dembele will be the functional forward line of Barca this season.

Now coming to the midfield, De jong has come to the club surely not for resting on the bench. He will demand a huge playtime, which he deserves. The coach cannot short the playtime of the heart of the team, Busquets. And previous year performance of Arthur will give him a sure position in the first XI if Valverde can get rid of his fascination over Rakitic. And Vidal will take a crucial role to inject some physical presence in the team whereas Alena and Puig can be very useful to sharpening the attack of it.

So, we can see that over-hyped Coutinho may not have any important position in the first xi even as a super sub. Because the coach has options to play Malcom & Suarez in attacking 3rd as substitutions. So, he may be shown the exit door at first. Then I would like to draw the attention of the fellow readers on the performance curve of Rakitic since the last two seasons. His performance was very poor in the last season with respect to his salary. And we can surely tell that this is the last season, he can provide us with some cash insourcing. So he may also follow Coutinho’s path.

Then the team will be much sharper, much young and much active in the field and in that team, most of the player will be of Barca mentality footballer. So we can claim the success in the very next season and we can dream of a treble.

Thank you all the readers, who have patiently read my analysis. Tomorrow, I will try to give a match preview and after the match, I will write a review following by the probable first XI of Barca this season.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton