Why Barça couldn’t beat Inter (again) | Barcelona 3-3 Inter Milan Tactical Analysis

[@pwdajjal]

that Bastoni long ball wasn't just a ”hopefull” ball. Italian players (especially the wide CB) are trained to do long but accurate passes. This was a revolution from deep playmaker role like Pirlo to the sweeping CB like Bonucci and Bastoni. Conte has been using Bastoni as alternative deep playmamer and now we can see this under Inzaghi. This is the less talk about because not many ”expert” are watching Serie A and only assume it was a hopefully long pass....

[@mohammedsouleymane]

Pique was supposed to head the ball it was a hopeful ball.

[@paolofu2507]

Totally right. 2 years ago in Inter Milan v Juventus he did a crazy pass for barella. He is crazily good with long passes

[@ududebun]

Bastoni makes those passes, there was nothing fortuitous about this one.

[@mariomargjini1062]

@@mohammedsouleymane it wasn't a hopfull ball. An an Inter fan, watching every game of Inter, Bastoni crosses from that position are often.

[@masale]

Deeply frustrating how anything Italian is negated, all down to not watching or caring but still end up having strong opinion. Bastoni Haa done this over and over again, how fortunate for his "hopeful" ball found Inter players against Benfica and other times last season.

[@minmpsa]

I wait for your videos like a post match conference from the coach 🤣

[@gdolmstead93]

I really appreciate how you look at team selection and player performance in the context of the tactical setup and the roles Xavi gave them. It makes it so much easier to understand the game and this rebuilding project, and it’s clearly a cut above pundits talking about players in isolation. Thank you!

[@flyingaviator8158]

Gracias! I needed this video in order to put that match experience behind me. I was in the stadium and we did EVERYTHING to get a win.

[@mani-nd6ie]

lovely tactical breakdown and not just a kneejerk emotional reaction. this game shows that xavi is trying to be tactically flexible based on the type of opponent he's up against and apart from the obvious drawbacks this set up had especially given how direct barca was, it still would've worked if it wasn't for silly misplaced passes from experienced players and also individual defensive mistakes 👍🏾

[@gentleman2.061]

Totally agree with you. I've seen so many idiots on Twitter talking about firing Xavi. We've all seen it, Barça has tried everything. And the worst part is that it was our own players who caused our defeat. What do you want Xavi to do with the individual mistakes of Piqué, Busquets, Garcia ? And the worst part is that Xavi had no choice but to align them.

[@gentleman2.061]

@McChrispi Yep. It's sad to see some individuals mistakes put us in this situation. I really hopes to see inter loose their two coming games. Because it will really be sad to see Barcelona at Europa league again.

[@nakdickson]

Trust me, this game would be different if Kounde and Aroujo were available. They're athletism would make a difference.

[@mmehdi3437]

Same for Lukaku and Brozovic

[@nakdickson]

@@mmehdi3437 I don't think Lukaku would influence that game better than Lautaro.

[@Shinoda.20]

@@mmehdi3437 and Correa, someone with better touch and dribble than Lukaku

[@sumedhjouras2887]

@@mmehdi3437 But still having Lukaku, Brozovic and Correa at start of the season you guys sit at 7th place with 4 losses, we on other hand were trashing each and every team at La liga and just conceded one goal, and without the two we're suffering heavily in defense

[@notnotnownow9622]

@@sumedhjouras2887 And without Kounde and Araujo none of Mallorca or Celta could score against Barcelona but the same attack scored only 1 goal per game - are you sure the problem is in defense?

[@psychoced437]

It was enough but the defense makes it look like it wasn't enough

[@krowaswieta7944]

Not enough for Inter*. Let me remind you that struggling Baryern made them (Inter) look like amateurs (literally). Lets be honest: Inter and Barcelona are not top tier teams (at least not yet). Pedri is briliant player though.

[@psychoced437]

@@krowaswieta7944 I think you don't understand what i'm saying

[@krowaswieta7944]

@@psychoced437 I do but i disagree. Barcelona played badly. Its not the team that is able to compete against the strongest teams if even Inter is better (and Inter was better in both matches).

[@olawalebankole1234]

@@krowaswieta7944 I think in the match against Bayern, Barcelona didn't take their chance and we paid dearly for it. against inter we had chances and referee made some blunders with whistling in the first leg but in the second Leg, Xavi should personally be held responsible. The team that played Inter the second leg was reminiscent of hose yester years which we lost out in the champions league. we had a team that placed kessie, dejong, balde on the bench and was comfortable using alonso, busquet, sergi roberto. Pique. There was so much tiredness in those players and busquet has continuously been used when there was better option on the bench. These are players who are past their prime and they offer nothing more, xavi should give the young players because they are future of Barcelona

[@psychoced437]

@@krowaswieta7944 They were good in the 1st half even tho the defense concede a few occasions, we knew the defense was going to cause problems but not at that level, i mean look at the goals man, basic defending mistake !!

[@footballhipstertv]

This is starting to become my favorite Barça analysis channel. Level headed tactical and structural analysis.. no isolated criticism or unfair singling out of players, and mainly intelligent rational fans in the comment sections.

[@innerpeace_memo500]

I love how you always achieve to end the video with a positive vibe.

[@animesh30]

For those asking for Balde in place of Alonso, for this particular match to break Inter's defence Xavi gambled with a back 3. Balde being very young is not experienced enough for this system so Xavi had to go with his 3 most experienced defenders amongst the choices available. It's a different story that they betrayed him with their performances. So Xavi's tactical game was on-point sadly the defenders weren't.

[@papikoli1259]

I think this is a perfect system for Xavi's team. With this 3-4-3 pedri can play very near to Lewy and allow us not to always being obliged to play with wingers to create chances. The gathering of the 4 midfielders: Pedri, Gavi, De Jong Busquets will dominate every team. And the defensive players fot that system must be Araujo, Kunde, and Eric Garcia and Christensen. With Araujo in the middle to cover transitions.

[@robert2690]

No, araujo will be playing on the right CB. That allows dembele to stay on the right to cover his behind.

[@safue6706]

@@robert2690 dembele doesnt defend

[@anonymoususer602]

@@safue6706 he has improved his defensive stats. I believe he can improve

[@danary2241]

You know ball

[@muryllopissuto3819]

He shouldn't have taken out Raphinha, he was being a monster in dedicating himself for the team, not taking out Sergi for De Jong for the second half has been costing us goals and goals and for instances the whole game. Pique ? I prefer any barça B CB instead of him. Your analysis is great, props! Barça has to stay calm from 1 to 90 minutes and get rid off the old players in though time, trusting in the youth, they still need to play, but the main players have to step over or next season we'll be trying to find another Busquets instead of adapting De Jong to a new whole game.

[@jaylucas8352]

Yes, the Busquets system is over, Barca is shooting themselves with this mentality. Bayern, Madrid, and Man city have no such problems

[@dada13771]

I don't know what's with the second halves. We always preform the best in the first half, but then in the second half, everything becomes chaotic and unorganized. This happened with Bayern, Inter, Celta, and if they don't do something about it I fear will happen in El Classico. Love the video anyways. Would be awesome if you gave a tactical preview on El Classico. Edit: I also think there's a problem of Xavi not being able to analyze the first half to find their weakness. As for coaches like Naggelsman, Guardiola, َAncelotti, Mourinho, and Klopp, this is different. They find the opposite team's weakness and exploit it in the second half; as you can see Liverpool and Real Madrid mostly score the winning goals in the last 45 minutes. As for the high intensity, physique had always been a problem with Barcelona. They always tire very soon and have less than half the strength they had at the beginning. Look a Real Madrid, or Liverpool. They spend all the 90 minutes running, and you never see a sign of waning in the players. If we are going to play high intensity, we have to be able to keep it up all the game.

[@daniaaal]

I think it’s mainly due to the fact that Xavi wants the team to play with high intensity. That requires a lot of energy and by the second half, the players become tired and are unable to sustain the same intensity to win balls high up as well as be as composed. I think another weakness of Xavi’s system is that he’s very attack-minded but when it comes to defensive organisation, it’s a clear deficiency.

[@dada13771]

@@daniaaal I also think there's a problem of Xavi not being able to analyze the first half to find their weakness. As for coaches like Naggelsman, Guardiola, and Klopp, this is different. They find the opposite team's weakness and exploit it in the second half, as you can see Liverpool and Real Madrid mostly score the winning goals in the last 45 minutes. As for the high intensity, physique had always been a problem with Barcelona. They always tire very soon and have less than half strength they had at the beginning. Look a Real Madrid, or Liverpool. They spend all the 90 minutes running, and you never see a sign of waning in the players. If we are going to play high intensity, we have to be able to keep it up all the game.

[@animesh30]

The problem is slowing down of Busquets. Right now no player (including FDJ and Gavi, Kessie is far off) having a better techincal ability to replace Busquets full time. In this game, the second goal was conceded after Busquets made two wrong decisions. In his prime this was unimaginable, almost blasphemy. Being one of the senior most player, with his experience he should have calmed the team down and lead the charge back with possession and sharp passes but it was almost as if he himself lost control and got carried away. The way we play (importance of the CDM role) after Busquets leaves, this is going to be a big problem area for Barca.

[@cnydo]

@@animesh30 about mentality lewan and ter stegen should be the captain not busq or pique

[@beran5673]

Its really simple, barca presses brutaly in the first half, not even smart pressing, just pressing to have the ball. they are not fit enough to ress 90 minutes, there a few teams capable to do that but even those teams like bayern take breaks from pressing. After those 45 minutes they are simply tired and slowly fall apart in the second half. Dont know why xavi is so blind…

[@SuarezX]

The problem was the defense today , lewa did everything he can

[@dada13771]

That header though... pure rage.

[@majestyiv2086]

I was doubting Xavi just listening to the idiots out there but once u sit down and listen to deep tactical analysis like this, u cant rlly blame Xavi and so far he's done rlly well

[@innerpeace_memo500]

Unfortunately, all our winger are really impatient. In possession based teams, wingers generally have the most space available and should hold up the ball in order for the whole to get in shape. We lack patience. Dembélé's cross before Inter's third goal 7:11 showcases that clearly, because both pedri and de jong lifting their hands wanting the ball, but he makes a poor cross.

[@samuelfave696]

People can talk about the defense but personally I think our wingers are our major problem,u can't retain possible with ur wingers giving up position so easily

[@leonronnie]

Agree, their decision making in final third and final ball is terrible. its a bit understandable for rafinha since he's new to the club but watching Dembele do this again and again and again is becoming painful. Honestly think Ferran should get more chances

[@jaylucas8352]

Exactly, Dembele particularly has no game intelligence, and does stupid stuff like this too much , resulting in a goal counterattacks

[@jaylucas8352]

@@leonronnie Dembele is far worse

[@oldschoolpurist]

Your post match analysis videos always calm me when we have lost the game, the way you put emphasis on trusting Xavi and this project gives me hope that we are on the right track. Hopefully fans and the board dont lose patience on Xavi and he can shine here at Barca! ♥

[@giannb5145]

Simone Inzaghi seems a very interesting manager, I like the fact that his 3-5-2 includes old-school "real" strikers, instead of wingers/falsewingers/false9s. I remember him as a player, he was rather average although he was part of Eriksson's star-studded Lazio.

[@thepurist_]

You’re right, feels like a throwback system. And very ‘Inter’.

[@RoHiT-rd9kr]

I don't think Inzaghi was great against barca because hands down inter have the better defense Still they conceded 3 goals While Barca had a pathetic defense line of players Yes they did the job against a weakened Barça But i don't expect much future for inter on the ucl against tough teams

[@giannb5145]

@@RoHiT-rd9kr Hmm, depends. I think they certainly would lose against teams like Man City or Real Madrid, but could beat teams like Tottenham, Benfica, or Dortmund. I have a soft spot for classic "No. 9" strikers and I like the fact that Inter use them

[@jaylucas8352]

Inzaghi outcoached Xavi. Xavis stupidity w defending counterattacks lost the game.

[@RoHiT-rd9kr]

@@jaylucas8352 Inzaghi outcoached Xavi because Xavi was forced to use his 5 th choice defender and a wingback at central defense

[@85Sudi]

the 3-4-3 variant worked brilliantly in the first half. I was impressed and found it a delicious-looking new tactic. Was a 3-4-3 still necessary after going 1-0 up? Knowing Inter would try to get forward for that away goal next? Why not replace Roberto with Balde on the right and switch to the usual 4-3-3? Let Inter come, they won't be defending with 10 behind the ball any more! You don't need the extra man in attack anymore! Xavi's inexperience may have shown here.

[@thepurist_]

It’s a good point. But the team actually was shifting to a 4-3-3 out of possession. With Roberto and Alonso as fullbacks, Pique Eric CBs.

[@85Sudi]

@@thepurist_ yeah of course. But that leaves spaces behind in transition, obviously. I'm thinking that the 3-4-3 came with the presumption that Inter would put up the 10-man screen. But the coach also knows that formation is top-heavy, or he'd play 3-4-3 day in day out. Against a team as technical as Inter, maybe the team can have two gears instead of one? Loved the 3-4-3 though it can be very very effective, even over the entire 90 mins against lesser teams in the Liga that sit back.

[@85Sudi]

@Krasko I'm absolutely not suggesting that Barca should ever sit back and defend a 1-0. But Xavi's (and Barca's) entire philosophy is about creating small zones of numerical superiority around the ball... in attack and in defence. See this vid: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aaq1ZnVuq86HjbM. All I'm saying is that it's difficult to create that local overload in defence against countering teams like Inter with just 3 - 3.5 at the back.

[@treyb7937]

Xavi needs to teach his team how to control games and stop the unnecessary crossing

[@ernestadamtey4859]

I don't know if Xavi gives Raphina and Dembele the license to attempt so many crosses and dribbles. Most of the time, a simple pass is the better choice.

[@jaylucas8352]

Raphina has had much better decisions when he plays on the right. Dembele is very wasteful too much and it costs a counterattacks

[@juanestebankruhsanmguel1960]

Ironically enough, Xavi needs someone like him the most in his team.

[@owanmah2933]

Yup, he needs someone who can control the game and maintain possession like he did.

[@perleon_]

The selection problems at the back. Inter really knew they could exploit the spaces at the flanks quickly before the full backs regrouped... and using Alonso & Roberto as the starting fullbacks did not do much to curb inter counter attacking the 3-4-3 diamond. It's one of the reasons Cruyff usually preferred pacey wide CBs at the back 3... and mostly 2 of the goals, we lacked the pace to quickly regroup and force them out or block the wide wings. Alba & Balde would've been much better or still, bring them on after 1-0

[@11amero]

I wait for your episodes eagerly. Your way of breaking down the matches is mere beauty. I'm asking every content creator to mention Christensen as well as a world class defender, he deserves that recognition. Would you agree that if the three injured defenders where available the match would've taken a different route? Intelligent work. Keep that up. VISCA BARÇA 💙❤️

[@colinabraham258]

what do you think about keeping dembele in the game in the final minutes...he just plays pointless crosses and keeps dribbling into defenders....we keep losing control because of him

[@kkpw12]

As Always absolute top notch video! thank you! Keep doing!

[@NicolasKafle]

i feel sad for lewandoski, came here to win the balon d or ended up in the europa

[@issamaghsoudy1403]

It is not even possible for him to win the balon d'or with the world cup this season. It is the same with messi winning over him because of copa

[@alviralmuhamad7152]

I love this tactic so much. Such a shame the patience of the team didn't follow

[@HuanTheIntelligent]

thanks for the analysis. you breakdown the important highlights rather than just rampage and complain. And I like how the discussions in the comments section as well, as mostly are discussing the tactics calmly, not just shouting to fire Xavi. Keep it up, always waiting for your next video

[@mmehdi3437]

I think Xavi is suffering the same think pep did in his first few years, which is not respecting the opponents tactics and strong points and always trying to enforce your own style of play which can work against most weaker teams, but in tougher games in UCL, good opponents will punish you. The reason Barca couldn't beat Inter was that they underestimated Inter's attacking players, if barca had played more safe in both games, they probably wouldn't get eliminated from UCL

[@marrobertx]

This. If he had watched recent serie a games between Inter and Milan, or Roma or Lazio he would have seen that the players get easily frustrated when the opponent plays rough or keeps them away from the ball. They just needed to do that in the second half.

[@MM-xt1fs]

Busquets have been in the squad for the past 14 years.. when is the time to change? Xavi told Nico he won't depend on him this season, so Nico went on loan. Frenkie De Jong have been maltreated by everyone one in the club and he is the best midfielder in the club. I don't understand why Xavi keep choosing the same midfield players and put Kessie and FDJ on the bench in the important matches, Kessie would have been crucial since he played in Serie A in the past seasons and FDJ would add dynamic and long passes behind Inter defences, unlike old man Busqi and Gavi who has no expierence.

[@amoghjoshi7091]

Idk where you got the Nico part from... Xavi had precisely said that he would need Nico and that this would be the season where he'd slowly become our main CDM, but seeing the inflow of players, Nico thought that he wouldn't get much gametime and asked Xavi to go out on loan and his wishes were respected... And lastly, what does Gavi have to do to not be scrutinized anymore? He had a stellar game yet everyone seems to believe that his inclusion was wrong???? Why???

[@novice4648]

@@amoghjoshi7091 " He had a stellar game" Gavi UCL performances so far (5 games) .... 0 goal 0 assist ...

[@luigifacci8851]

Incredible how Barcelona fans are always looking for excuses, the truth is that Inter played better. Playing the game that Barcelona does, that is, dribbling endlessly is not playing well.

[@bakhtiyorakramjonov7606]

Was waiting your video since the final whistle. It would be great if you could upload faster. Your videos are invaluable

[@albertzee8510]

In my opinion Xavi is incapable of running Barca probably because of all the emotional and psychological loads he carries from times when he wad a player . He simply can not make rational and logic decisions, that affect chemistry and vibes in the team and makes it dysfunctional under pressure ? IMO

[@albertzee8510]

also Lewandowski made big mistake when signing for Barca, unless that's how he planned to exit from playing professional football . win top scorer title at Laliga. make name for himself in Spain and retire in Spain IMO

[@MotswanaTota-012]

Raphinha has been woeful lately. I don't think he has anything over ansu, but Raphinha still starts. His set pieces were trash, and his decision making was not impressive. He plays reactively, he reacts to his teammates movement, so why is he playing? The movement should be instinctive. He decides to shoot when he should recycle possession. There was a point where he could have passed pedri who was just out of the box and could have taken a shot from outside the box, but Raphinha took the shot instead.

[@hamzahhussain6580]

Great video! I just want this squad to be rid of the old guard. It's them who constantly let us down!!!

[@samdan4509]

With koeman, it was his tactics that was his weakness... With Xavi, it's his stubbornness in the aspect of trying to prove some signings(players) that has already shown some signs of not being too good or out of form in the earlier games they've played... He did it with Ferran last season, kept on starting him, instead of dropping him, till he regains form, now am glad he's learnt from that, but he's doing the same thing with Alonso now, am just glad he's on a year contract. The universe 😂 has chosen balde already, it's been evident from the preseason, but Xavi is trying to prove something 🙂... Sometimes I wish we could just have a coaching staff of Koeman and Xavi together, Koeman as the sporting director, finding those talents and Xavi as the tactian, but I know am in dreamland Also, this idea of trying to force the xavi and iniesta regens on the big stage (UCL) (high chance of working in laliga though, against some teams) isn't really a good idea, don't force it, let it come naturally, plus Gavi might still not be part of that Regen yet, give him time, don't force it, international football is different from club football, if God had not use Juve to block that Morata's move, we could have also be facing goal drought upfront 🙂 like Spain.... I just hope Xavi learns faster, club football is not the same as international football, especially when it comes to UCL, those old times are passed now, this is the modern era and you've got to adapt, not forcing things or trying to recreate them... Xavi is a good coach and tactian, but this small details can end his managerial career, if he doesn't change

[@rohanshukla9030]

You really make me have a postitive look at the games, even though we are out of the Champions League. I had a question about Xavi's lineup. I saw a lot of people on Twitter talk about Balde and his attacking output. Would that help our team, it seems whenever the full back pushes up either Pedri of Gavi need to fall behind him. So even though I love Balde so much and I think he is better than Alonso, would it have been a game changing difference to add him in the game?

[@jaylucas8352]

Balde got the assist, and always a threat. Xavi made a mistake w Alonso

[@HuanTheIntelligent]

I think Xavi plan to be flexible to transit between back 3 and back 4, with Alonso, he can be CB or LB anytime. Balde might not be a good option to fit the flexibility in the formation

[@thabsheervp4669]

Thoughts about dembele's horrible decision making to cut past two and shoot instead of putting fati in a 1v1 with a simple pass, the offside call was tight and may have overturned by var. He has been here for years and still consistently showcasing he doesn't possess the footballing IQ for barca to rely on him in big stages.

[@tittopaulson5200]

He is an impatient footballers. I think he is more suited to a counter attacking team than a procession based footballer. He is at barca for 5 years & still not good playing procession. He is best when counter attack & fast transition

[@salmanwahidi91]

Stumbled upon your channel for the first time... absolutely great analysis and understanding of football and tactics. Subscribed!

[@mlungisizondo8827]

What's the thought about dropping Busquets for De Jong?

[@paulodili751]

I completely agree with this analysis. The project has huge prospects of great success but will take a bit of time to mature. People forget that by second half Barca for the most time had four teenagers playing at this level, the experience of playing at this level will serve them well in future. Xavi's error was not his tactical setup but in team selection-playing Alonzo instead of Balde and Gavi instead of Kessie. Those were blunders; all the same better luck next season.

[@amoghjoshi7091]

Why the fixation with Kessie over Gavi?

[@paulodili751]

@@amoghjoshi7091 this is not a fixation, It is pointing out the obvious. Gavi is quite young and not suitable for the match, Kessie offered better solutions.

[@amoghjoshi7091]

@@paulodili751 what better solutions exactly? People always say stuff like physicality and experience when Gavi was stellar throughout the game??? You're gonna criticise him for what exactly? Kessie on the other hand looked very clumsy and was missing many passes... People just don't want to admit that they're wrong

[@joelamoako6778]

good analysis, barcas main issue aside knowing when to calm the game down with possession is also the reliance on the old players like pique and busquets.

[@ZugaFcb]

We had no other choice, all our defenders are injured and DE jong just came back from injury

[@Taurean_SAMA]

@@ZugaFcb Even if FDJ was fit, he still would've started Busi which is what pissed me off so much 😑.

[@ZugaFcb]

@@Taurean_SAMA now you are just jumping into conclusion, honestly I don't think you would be complaining if we had won this game, certainly you didn't think this way at half time, let's give xavi some credit, no possession based team would function with players like pique,busqet and Garcia at the back, why else did you think Madrid let go of Ramos,varane and casimero, man city letting go of fernandinho ,Eric garcia and kompany, these teams need the best defenders at their prime to function and we saw this with pique and puyol, xavi has recreated that with araujo,christensen and kounde, both of them getting injured at the same time was enough to cripple us at the back, hopefully DE jong and kounde starts against Madrid.

[@Taurean_SAMA]

@@ZugaFcb No no, i said this before the game in many comments of the people i follow for barça news and reviews, if the same midfield starts it already tells me what will happen. It's a pattern now.

[@readbeforeyoureply64]

@@ZugaFcb if if if, the conclusion is we lost the game.

[@samuellawrence1536]

Is busquet bigger than Barcelona?? Please I need an answer y can't he be benched

[@andrewsappiah8106]

You didn’t talk about Frenkie De Jong?

[@vistaiscool2]

Why did you completely ignore the impact Frenkie had when introduced? Why did you completely ignore Gavi Poor discipline that almost resulted in a red card and ample space for Inter to score in the first half?

[@amoghjoshi7091]

What red card? There wasn't even a yellow mate??? What are you on about?

[@ariyanmj1146]

I think frenkie had a great impact. I also think we lost in the first match because of him, he would make the difference. He can make some progressive runs as well as hold down the tempo. And balde should've started. Alonso is slow and the crosses aren't that good while balde has speed, can dribble and play fast one two. And gavi can track the balll, but he is still physically immatured I think. Love your analysis. Keep it up.

[@fcb2463]

spot on with ur analysis.... exactly barca were rushing especially with the amount of space they were getting.....

[@saadarif375]

I don"t really understand few criticisms by mostly people here and on twitter: 1. How can people say Balde should start but WHERE?? we are playing 3 at the back against inter back 5 which worked perfectly (watch any analysis video) he can NOT play as wide CB that is a waste of his pace Alanso was perfect man for that and he disappointed 2. People saying bench Pique but who do we play as CB, currently we have 3 injured ones and he has been eating dust on bench for past I dunno how many games before injury crisis so Xavi does not trust him and rightfully so as it is proved 3. Start De Jong: How can you start a game such (important and complex) with a player that is just coming back from injury and had 0 minutes since coming back for injury and has sometimes performed sometimes not in that role and bench Busi who has been in rich vain of form before this game? hindsight is 20/20 but now sane manager could start De Jong as much as I love him (Busi played really bad and he should have been replaced as soon as second half began with De Jong) 4. Xavi Criticism: I don't think Rafinha should have been subbed Xavi loves dembele way too much and he was wrong there. the tactics were okay but the man management has to improve. He should have changed to 4 at the back at half time brought on Balde and Frenkie and just hogged possession and not take risks (made inter frustrated). Would that had saved Pique's collapse I dunno but I think we would could have been more stable. I can't criticise him much because we have been fantastic before injury and this is not his preferred players he is playing but things need to improve and I think they will. 5. Pessemism: I do not understand this negative thoughts around the club right now yes we are out of champions league (which nobody thought we are going to win anyway) and it is very very bad for finances but we have strong claim on Laliga and we should focus on winning Europa and Copa del Rey (yes all of them) our injured players are gonna come back and we wont have to play roberto and pique and busquets. Would winning these 3 trophies help us financially? Probably not but it will put us back on the mark to compete and it can be fantastic season still. Sorry for long comment but I am sick of all this weird stuff in community and had to vent somewhere.

[@readbeforeyoureply64]

I stopped reading when you said balde shouldn't start.

[@tittopaulson5200]

Most of those who comment don't know tactical,physical side of the game. I stopped commenting when I understood most are clueless about this & it is a waste of time

[@readbeforeyoureply64]

@@tittopaulson5200 and you know 😹 if a team loses its the coach's fault boss that's why coaches get sacked stop with these mental gymnastics for Xavi, acting like he is perfect but the universe is against him. He is responsible for the team selection, subs, style so yes we'll blame him.

[@saadarif375]

@@readbeforeyoureply64 should have read on i said he cant start in this formation because cryff 343 doesn’t have a lb and i criticised xavi below as well i just think he needs more time he deserve it after we game 2 undeserving seasons to Valverde dont you think?

[@readbeforeyoureply64]

@@saadarif375 no I don't think so, why? Because I remember well during Koeman's era people claimed it was unacceptable for us to be in Europa and claimed that "the squad is good enough to compete" now with xavi that same squad with 9 more players is apparently still not good enough. And I don't understand what people mean when they say we've improved under Xavi, cause of possession? Cause Xavi football is pass to the wings and cross if that's acceptable why was valverde fired?

[@crappymj2326]

Spot on the analysis. You earned my sub

[@mwitwachishimbamwelwa3616]

Hi, please share your thoughts on Xavi insistence not to use Dejong and Balde?

[@Taurean_SAMA]

What happened is simple. 1. Defence literally SOLD the game with those mistakes. 2. Busi cannot play 90 mins, hell i don't even know why this guy still starts when he's on his way out, this deliberately takes time away from the other players. 3. Injuries which leads to the first reason. 4. Lastly, Xavi being braindead, doing the same thing AGAIN and AGAIN. I can only forgive him for the horrible defending, the rest I'm very very pissed at Xavi.

[@FreeDomSy-nk9ue]

I love your content, there's very few that make such content. I wish you success

[@abduljalil9951]

What do you think about all the barca veteran players, its seem their mistakes always cost us so much from pique to jordi alba especially busquet and xavi choosing alonso over balde in big games ??

[@avinashjadoonanan]

I always always look forward to your videos a perfect analysis of the game keep It up bro. Also I strongly believe tactically we set up nicely but we lost because of individual errors

[@pawezurek7709]

Great work, fantastic analysis

[@sergiudina2507]

I see one factor that no one seems to be considering, and that is the physical toll that the intense pressure Xavi demands can take on the players. I don't think it's by chance that Barça's system is performing better in the first halves due to that. After 3 or 4 counterattacks (and very specially when offsides are signaled LATE, something VERY common) , players freshness suffers, this is not an essentially physical team, and multiple sprints to reposition show immediately in the quality of the press, and even I would say some of the decision making for the players with less endurance. I would like to know the purist opinion on the managing of the energy of the players, or another way to put it, the tempo of the game. It seems to be like Barça tries to go all-in the whole game instead of throwing in some degree of possession speculation that would be most welcome to recover physically. Most importantly - and this is done very well by Real Madrid - opponents are most vulnerable the last 20 minutes of the game when they are more tired, and having the patience to maximize your threats in that part of the games helps you win a lot. Maybe I am completely off because I see no one talking about it, but in my opinion this should be part of any serious analysis.

[@osamasuleiman7925]

Its just so frustrating knowing if just one of our 3 first choice defenders was not injured this match would have been so different

[@mujtabanabizadeh7048]

agree bro

[@daniaaal]

Yup. Goes to show how any one player on the pitch can impact so much in the game.

[@filipgjud8922]

Also it shows the good work done by the board and Xavi. As soon as we missed the new players we started loosing games

[@kkpw12]

I am telling you it's not Xavi's tactics but players that are responsible for loosing games

[@kattamaurya]

Is it me or anyone else sees this, xavi’s system in the final third has been attack from wingers or crosses, nothing from the middle. None of the midfielders provide defence splitting passes to the strikers or wingers. Gavi’s work rate has been great but his passes to the final third have been awful. The only person who can provide those defence splitting passes was Riqui Puig, look what he is good at MLS those passes have been world class. He should be given a chance at least next season, his vision is on higher level than gavi and pedri

[@novice4648]

"He should be given a chance at least next season, his vision is on higher level than gavi and pedri" Xavi just does not like puig ... just like jutgla, dest.

[@d2xr]

Can you please share your thoughts why Xavi is hesitant to bench Busquets. He's benched all his former teammates except Busi.

[@Regilvarghese]

What a tactical breakdown ❤️ amazing 🔥

[@dudeshiya]

Let us be honest. Champions League (CL) really shows that Xavi is a good coach but lacks experience. But most importantly, they need to move on with Busquets and Pique -- bench Busquets and get rid of Pique. Gavi is good, but he showed his limits against top teams. I understand that they bench DeJong in order to put pressure on him for either taking pay cuts or leaving the club. But this is ridiculous. FCB's midfield, apart from Pedri and DeJong, really lacks creativity. The midfield should be DeJong, Pedri and maybe sign a new player in the style of DeBruyne, Rakitic or Muller, that is capable of connecting with the attack and especially with Lewandowski. Gavi is good, but he needs time.

[@stanislavvolevach3747]

Love your videos, thank you for your analysis 🙏

[@davestevenson9257]

Fantastic vid. Cheers.

[@jcm9890]

The initial formation with 3-4-3 diamond, if it was an all in system I would have started with Frenkie instead of Sergi Roberto. Regarding the lack of calm and control in posession it is incredible, this is the total opposite of what Xavi was as a player, maybe that is why he insisted in Bernardo Silva.

[@jcm9890]

@Krasko total different injury my friend. He was fit, we saw it in the second half.

[@lin5772]

Xavi really did everything he could in this match, it just individuals mistakes that fail us

[@jaylucas8352]

Eric isn’t quality for the top level , too small, not fast enough. Just good for La Liga maybe

[@lin5772]

@@jaylucas8352 Eric is good on the ball but not physical enough to adapt to modern football, that why we need Araujo, Kounde and Christensen to play along side him

[@jaylucas8352]

@@lin5772 he is very good for Barca B

[@WC2FAR]

Will you only do a tactical analysis of Barca games? or Do you have ideas to analyse other games too from EPL, SERIE A and Bundesliga?

[@thepurist_]

It’s possible that I will, yes

[@JohnMushitu]

​@@thepurist_ that would be awesome

[@sake1007]

I think wr should not play senior player like busqut ,alba and pique full match in champions league.they can be effective in subs but full match they cant match intensity

[@chikeowah6708]

I love the purist 🥰🥰

[@danary2241]

Purist, do you think Barca's tendency to cross more is because of Xavi's instruction or it's purely from players' individual decision making?

[@evilsultan]

Koeman who I didn’t rate at all had a worse team I think but has slight higher points per game with Barca. Even Ernesto Valverde who only had Messi as a world class player had better stats. My patience as a Barca fan is wearing thin with Xavi now.

[@jstos3675]

Is it too early to say "Xavi out?" Because if isn't, Tuchel is free and Klopp will be free at the end of the season, just saying.

[@evilsultan]

@@jstos3675 Tuchel probably won't play the style that Barca wants. Out of those available only poch might. I don't think Liverpool get rid of Klopp yet, but anything could happen lots of season to go. Xavi is playing a brand of football that is too idealistic especially when we don't have a world class playmaker like Messi to unlock defences. Pedri, Gavi etc... still too young.

[@jstos3675]

@@evilsultan I think that's one of the main problems with Barca. They keep trying to play a style that they long ago lost the ability to play. They're obsessed with playing "tiki taka" but they don't have the players to do it anymore.

[@RoHiT-rd9kr]

How would you give a personalised analysis on Alonso Would Barca have done better if they played Garcia - Frenkie - Piquè instead of Alonso at the back line, considering Frenkie have played a considerable number of matches as a centre back both at ajax and barca under koeman I expect your response

[@malhardave4881]

Good analysis as usual What I gathered from the game (aka issues): 1. Team selection and formation: Xavi keeps using different players for the CL and La Liga, making it difficult for any kind of chemistry to be built. He also changes formations a lot, especially in the CL, which granted is in response to the opponents but the players just aren't used to it. Specifically this game, the choice to start Alonso over Balde does not make sense to me coz Alonso is slow, he would never match Dumfries on a counter, and we needed some solidness on counters. Also Frenkie could have started ahead of Roberto, he was lively in his 27 minutes. 2. As u mentioned the pausa is lacking. After the first goal we needed to slow down, make Inter desperate, perhaps hit them on a counter to create a big chance, instead we went all out attack Thirdly, as much as I would personally love to see Xavi perfect himself at Barca, this is the absolute worse project to make that experiment, our summer business needs us to get success, and quickly at that. Nothing against Xavi, I think he'll be a great coach in some years, but not now and not at Barca for now. I'd love him to return in 4 or 5 years

[@majestyiv2086]

Frenkie was injured and he JUST came back so I guess Xavi didn't want to risk starting him then aggravating the injury. n I think Xavi started Alonso against Inter bcs we need balde 100% fit for el clasico. If alonso plays in el clasico ( remeber he'll be facing Vinicius ) we'll be dead

[@malhardave4881]

@@majestyiv2086 I think the Inter game was way more important than the Clasico, Clasico is worth 3 points in the grand scheme of the things. This was between CL and EL

[@Permeatio]

Ansu Fati is the only youngster who hasn't improved since making his debut, his main strong point is his finishing yet he cant shoot with his left foot.

[@nakdickson]

How do you expect someone going through instant injury to improve? I believe he'd be the the best young player if it wasn't for these bad injuries.

[@Permeatio]

@@nakdickson not being able to use your left foot has nothing to do with injury.

[@nakdickson]

@@Permeatio he's not the first player who barely uses his left foot. It's just a trait of some players. Even Messi hardly uses his right foot.

[@SoelemAafnan]

What did you think about Frenkie's performance?

[@vistaiscool2]

He chose to ignore it.

[@varunbuchalli4369]

What does Xavi see in Alonso? If the idea is to create overlapping runs, why not use Balde?

[@thepurist_]

In this game Alonso was a third centre back, not a left back.

[@hemachandran8972]

Kessie is a substitute( fresh legs) but he can't catch Gosens that bring Barca the catastrophe Pique cant maintain an offside trap against lautaro is childish as like Xavi said Barcelona don't really deserves UCL with this defense

[@honour111]

Two questions, Can frenkie take over the pivot in the long term? And why do you think kessie is not playing like we expected him to. Whether it is being played in the wrong position or whether he's just adapting

[@thepurist_]

Frenkie is defensively too passive as a lone CDM. He doesn’t win enough tackles/duels, which is important for keeping control high up the pitch. For Kessié, he just hasn’t shown enough quality on the ball imo.

[@honour111]

Okay then , after the game vs inter will you still continue to use busquets as the dmf?

[@just_a_yokai1103]

Kessie is more of a box to box than a DM, at Milan that was always Tonali

[@akashm8358]

I agree with this absolutely. there is time when you have to be direct but dembele and raphinha need to understand space and options better, this isn't Liverpool or Madrid to just cross and hope, Barca's game has always been the same and they need to understand how they can use the players positioned close to them to create opportunities, looking for the 3rd man runs etc, this is why we always put options for players close to each other so that they can use them in attack, And I think this rushing and making useless decision making is also a problem that Xavi has created for himself, I know Xavi wants more players to shoot because apart from Lewandowski we don't have anyone who scores consistently but xavi needs to instill in dembele and Raphinha, how to look for spaces and movements to receive the ball and how to use the players around them to exploit gaps in opposition defence with clever movements to get into goal scoring positions. Because most of the times the way dembele and Raphinha are too direct, it looks like they don't even understand where the space is or how to exploit space in a possession based team like barca. These guys need to look at how Pedro and villa or Thierry Henry played on the wings at Barca, it wasn't just cross and inshallah. Every Barca player needs to be able to have a football IQ to interpret spaces and knowing automatisms and options around them to attack the spaces better

[@gogobarca4192]

Amazing vid as usual! Do you think if Xavi played de Jong instead of Busquets and we had both Araujo and Kounde that we would have won this game?

[@arditarmadhi5108]

Just here in the video not to mention the match I saw several instances where Araujo would've fully blocked Lautaro or Dzeko simply because he is too tough and quick.For all the purist highlighted about Lautaro he was in several instances allowed to much time and space and not immediately closed down which is what Araujo does best

[@jaylucas8352]

Eric is far too weak a defender to contain this level of strikers. As long as Barca can’t see this, he will always cost them points.

[@arditarmadhi5108]

@@jaylucas8352 the thing is he does need a physical presence alongside him but this season without a RB he'll still start and he does give a lot with his passing,he made a mistake for Lautaro's goal but made up for it with an assist something we shouldn't forget

[@jaylucas8352]

@@arditarmadhi5108 this is such a weakness top teams will target. As long as Eric and his lack of physicality is there, mentally other teams will begin with an advantage. He isn’t intimidating, in fact it’s the opposite. Imagine other top teams and their defenders, they are always intimidating. This is important at that level.

[@arditarmadhi5108]

@@jaylucas8352 it is true but I believe with experience he'll get better hopefully

[@jaylucas8352]

@@arditarmadhi5108 look at Chadi Riad from Barca B. I think he’s a much better, physical and good , prospect for CB.

[@DrBurg-by6kj]

Whic player do you think we could realistically get, that would improve our squad

[@deadlyecho]

Also we need to stop hyping out players, like pedri is good but for sure bellingham is better, pedri lacks shooting and physicality and aslo he needs to work on dribbling and progressive passes much more, gavi is good at ball recovery and defending, but there is alot things that needs work, both are promising players with potential, regarding the front, I consider them as slightly above average players, with very bad decision making, except lewa of course.. regarding the defence.. you know the story..

[@novice4648]

Glad you told the ugly truth ...

[@deadlyecho]

@@novice4648 Yeah mate, I have been a barca supporter for over 20 years now, and believe me we are far behind real madrid and other big clubs when it comes to quality of players we possess.. aslo we now struggle convincing quality players to sign beacuse now we became financially weak and not the same as before which people really need to understand that.. Our position in the big teams is continuously changing in a downward direction... unfortunately it is due to the previous management and stuff... we are clueless about what we want, do we need effective long-term or short-term results ? Also the tiki-taka philosophy is over... we need to build from the ground up with new techniques that are used in modern football, look at pedri's body for example, I doubt that he worksout at the gym properly, if he were at bayern, or Liverpool or whatever one of the big teams now, he will be a beast like kimich or like coutinho back when he was with bayern... it is so fken sad...

[@novice4648]

@@deadlyecho "Also the tiki-taka philosophy is over..." Well said ... Xavi (and some fans) fails to understand that world-class tiki taka needs ballers in every position ... plus 1-2 generational players (e.g messi, inestia) who make a difference on the pitch. Even Pep gave that up and adapted. Only the rookie coach thinks he can create that type of winning team again ... Worse, with mix and match of exterior players ... not La Masia players.

[@deadlyecho]

I think barca scouting and decision making when it comes to signing promising cheap young players should really be discussed over thier next meetings... We LACK QUALITY PLAYERS, lack of dribbling, lack of shooting and also not precise shooting, lack of quality passes/crosses that destroys defensive lines inside the offensive third specially inside the box, lack of formations and fast one passes, lack of quality defending as a team and ball recovery in counter attacks....

[@deadlyecho]

@Krasko Bro raphinha can't dribble, and is not a good winger, dembele can dribble but his shooting accuracy sucks as well as his passing and decision making after dribbling, so he doesn't create threats although he is good one vs one, which mean he is useless

[@deadlyecho]

@Krasko I didn't said Neymar, look at madrid, vini can dribble Rodrigo can dribble and even valvarde can dribble, modric can but he is getting older now... we only have dembele and he is fken useless, even Napoli has a better team than us. Liverpool has luis diaz who can dribble really well, so there are players who can dribble and make a difference not like dembele....

[@deadlyecho]

@Krasko parking the bus is solved if we have good midfielders that can find spaces and passes inside the box, and not rotate the fken ball and depened on dembele, we need dribblers who can penetrate from the middle and also creative players which our midfielders lack ....

[@deadlyecho]

@Krasko watching games ???!!! are you fking kidding me !! how old are you kid .... I have been watching barca games from 1999, and not only barca games but football in general, Rodrygo is definitly a better dribbler than that shitt raphina go watch real madrid games kid, pedri passes players becuase of his intelligence and not because of excelllent dribbling skills like bernardo, or whatever other player, both his legs are weak and not a good shooter which is odd because most of the good midfielders can shoot really good and accurate besides their long and short passes accuracy, frenkie isnot a dribbler bu he is a decent midfielder... go watch other football clubs and dont be a child...

[@nisheshpaudel8488]

What you think of barca not being able to create through the middle? (not only this game bt overall as goals only comes from wide areas)

[@tittopaulson5200]

Pedri is the only creative midfielder we have. Both dembele & raphinha are wide wingers . Inter is compact and have 8 players in the middle.

[@thepurist_]

This was the first game where there was a strong emphasis through the middle. Pedri’s role made that possible. But generally Xavi likes to attack the flanks because that’s where the space is (against most opponents).

[@christianponce2087]

It's been interesting to see a lot of the discourse around this game as though Xavi is stupid and stuck to his guns, when in reality he played a risky game that was also the best he had available at the time. Yes Balde is a huge improvement over Alonso as a Fullback, but as a CB it would waste his talent and honestly Alonso has more experience in a CB position. Frenkie is great but playing him instead of Busquetes would have meant even more loss of possession and less defensive coverage, albeit Busquetes messed up big time this game, that's not usual for him. And pique is our 5th choice center back for a reason...but we literally had no other options. This Barca loss hurt, especially because ewe finally have manager who understands what this team needs to do and he played a game of high risk high reward, but the risk was too much and Barca simply couldn't execute. As much as I love Raphinha for his passion and directness, he was shaky on Wednesday night and simply couldn't execute the right crosses often enough. Huge credit to him for picking out the pass to Roberto that would build into the first goal. But it should have been Dembele on the right from the start. If only Fati was fit and confident, he'd be tearing up the left flank and would be a killer combination player with Lewandowski and any of Gave, Frenkie or Pedri. That's the thing though, Fati isn't at full fitness and confidence and that doesn't make him bad it just means he's not the best option for Xavi until he gets that level back. Same goes to Ferran who I think is our best left wing profile in a 4-3-3 (currently) purely for his off ball movement, if only he wouldn't miss some of those sitters lol. Idk, after a long time being a Barca fan this knockout bums me out but I'm definitely not angry with Xavi or with the board like in years past. I'm annoyed and hurt that player's like pique seem to not realize they should have made room on this team two seasons ago, but then again he was being frozen out of play before the injury crisis. Can't help but wonder what would hav been if that international break hadn't caused this team the problems it has. Thank you @thepurist for the analysis, as always your tactical reviews are a great overview of why this team has such potential and why we aren't hitting that stride yet. Hopefully Barca can win the league and domestic cups this year, and hopefully European dominance is on the rise for Xavi and Co. in the coming seasons.

[@jeevan996]

Would you prefer the conservative 4-3-3 with 2 attacking fullbacks or a system like the one we saw in this match when Kounde is available? Kounde at RB, Christensen(or Garcia) and Araujo as CBs and Balde as the LB, with Kounde along with the other two CBs forming a back 3. Also Kessie in place of Busquets, De jong and Pedri completing the midfield.

[@thepurist_]

Against this specific system, this 3-4-3 is fine. If you’re playing a team with wingers, then you need regular fullbacks.

[@footballman10]

I think with Araujo and Kounde there is no way Inter score 3 goals Do you agree?

[@parispierre10]

There’s lots of things that need to addressed with this team. I hope these bad performances highlight them and I hope they are not ignored. 👀

[@sand__9994]

Barca need a new left winger. Ansu rn, is at a way below the level that's needed to play at this level. He ain't gonna make it to the WC squad playing like this.

[@deadlyecho]

I don't know why we signed kessie and alonso, they both are not a good profile for barca, raphinha is not a 60m player, too expensive I give him 35, 40m max. Only Kounde, christensen and lewa are good signings, the rest are 🗑

[@StefenP]

Check how many “hope long passes” made bastoni in champions league and serie a , and how many assists came out of them and you will realize that Bastoni is a hidden play, an added midfielder

[@pedropierre9594]

Having Lewandowski and lot setting up the team for him to be a pure 9 is blasphemy

[@MotswanaTota-012]

On Inter's second goal, I wasn't too hard on Eric personally. The reason being that it is not the first time I see Garcia make dumb decisions when defending. Or the second, or the third, or the fourth, and so on. The person who I blame for that goal is busquets. I would not expect busquets to lose the ball in that area of the field so carelessly. The entire second half, I was screaming, "Relax, calm down."

[@afallenworld1581]

Why does he insists on playing Dembele-Raphina. When he could play Ferran - Raphina or Fati - Dembele or some combination of that.

[@owanmah2933]

I feel like xavis system could have worked if his center backs weren’t so old and slow like pique and Alonso. Of course his hand was forced with pique but starting Alonso still puzzles me.

[@costel365]

Why do you think it wasn't played like in the first half with Celta, why players don't dribble, Raphinha and Dembele but crosses are chosen, Roberto could be exchanged for FDJ, the match hurt me a LOT. 🙂

[@MarxInMars]

Barca always seem to struggle a lot after international breaks. What do you think will happen after the World Cup?

[@arditarmadhi5108]

Disaster will strike pretty much

[@arditarmadhi5108]

It'll take an insane amount of time to get things back together

[@yashjagirdar928]

Do you think Kessie should have been deployed as the right interior for this match since Gavi's role vs inter was primarily defensive? Although Gavi tried his best, I felt that Kessie would have won more of the duels Gavi faced due to his strength and defensive capabilities.

[@daniaaal]

I feel like the issue with Kessie is that he doesn’t seem to be aware of what the team mates around him do, and neither does he connect well with his fellow midfielders atm. He kinda looks lost atm. I do hope Xavi gives him more game time for him to gel and be more in tune with his system.

[@thepurist_]

Kessie is actually very passive defensively. He doesn’t make many tackles/interceptions (unlike Gavi). And I’d also argue Gavi has shown much more creatively - though he still has a long way to go.