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New Barcelona head coach Xavi was in the dugout for the first time in the derby against cross-town rivals Espanyol. Despite a nervy end to the game, the Catalan giants played some scintillating football and ended up recording a 1-0 victory.
The whole atmosphere in the buildup to the game against Espanyol was something vastly different from what we’ve seen so far this season. Despite being 10 points behind Real Madrid, Barcelona's supporters were frenzied before the game and brought a lot of character with them to the Camp Nou.
This is one of the effects Xavi has had on the club – revitalizing the mindset of the fans.
Xavi’s Barcelona showed plenty of promise against Espanyol
While it’s true that making assumptions on the basis of one game can be misleading, there were plenty of positives when Barcelona took to the field under Xavi.
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For one, there was a distinct intensity and pace to the game. Passing was quick, short and often done with the intent of breaking lines. However, what caught the eye the most, especially in the first half was Barcelona’s pressing.
Under Xavi, the players were frantic in their press and counter-press. Immediately after losing the ball, Barcelona players would swarm the Espanyol players to take control of possession once again. The team hasn’t pressed this well in a long time and the intensity was quite refreshing.
They also fashioned out plenty of chances with the focus being on the wings. The wingers are going to be very important in Xavi’s system at Barcelona and we shall discuss more about this later. Several players also caught the eye in that game and it will be interesting to see how their roles and performances develop over the course of the season.
Let’s talk about the five players who are expected to thrive under Xavi at Barcelona:
#5 Eric Garcia
Eric Garcia took time to adapt to Barcelona but slowly and surely, he’s showing why he’s regarded as one of the most talented young central defenders in world football.
However, it’s what he offers with the ball that demonstrates why he’s such a good fit for Xavi’s system. Against Espanyol, Garcia completed 86 passes and failed on only six occasions. Not only did he find Nico Gonzalez between the lines, he also reached advanced players like Frenkie de Jong, Gavi and Memphis Depay on several occasions throughout the game.
The 20-year-old is also adept at carrying the ball out from the back. In fact, when it comes to progressive distance, Garcia leads the charts at Barcelona (2266 yards).
#4 Gavi
It has been said quite often, but given the way Gavi plays it’s hard to think that he’s just 17 years of age. The latest La Masia sensation shows the maturity and dexterity found only in seasoned veterans.
Against Espanyol, he was forced to play out of his comfort zone due to the absence of wingers but shone even there. Gavi was deployed as the winger on the left side but instead of maintaining width throughout the game, he often drifted centrally. In those cases, Alba compensated by providing width.
Xavi also used him as a strong 1v1 contender on the left half-space and flank. He would often go past and fool Espanyol players with sharp foot movements or quick exchanges. Gavi also led the counter-press for Barcelona every time they lost the ball. Not only did he win 10 ground duels, the most for a player on the night, he also recovered the ball eight times!
Gavi’s role also casts a light on how Xavi might use Pedri once he recovers from injury and returns to the side. Much like Gavi, Pedri is also capable of playing on the wings or half-spaces and drifting inside to create chances.
#3 Ansu Fati
Although Ansu Fati hasn’t played a game for Barcelona under Xavi yet, it’s quite obvious that Fati will share the bulk of the goal-scoring duties when he returns from injury. Xavi might ask him to both hold the width as well as move towards the box in order to occupy goal-scoring areas.
Fati has a lot of pace to burn on the wings and is also excellent at shooting from anywhere close to the box. Xavi might look to fashion chances from the left with a trio of Frenkie de Jong, Gavi/Pedri and Ansu Fati, while Jordi Alba maintains horizontal width.
The 19-year-old can also exchange quick passes with Depay on the edge of the box or tee off a pass to the player making the run on the opposite flank.
#2 Sergio Busquets
There has been a lot of criticism regarding Sergio Busquets at Barcelona. While Busquets continues to be the fulcrum of everything the Spanish national team does, his performances in the last three years for Barcelona have been erratic and inconsistent.
The game against Espanyol showed that Busquets is far from finished. It also proved that in the right system and under the guidance of a proper manager in Xavi, he can still be the midfield lynchpin. He had an 84 per cent passing accuracy and often set up wingers with a one-on-one against the keeper or with space to run into. Busquets also broke a lot of lines with his vision and made six recoveries and 11 long balls.
Perhaps the greatest attribute to his performance was the fact that Barcelona became significantly worse and failed to take charge of possession as soon as Xavi substituted him. This led to a mild collapse in structure and intent and Espanyol managed to sniff chances at goal towards the latter stages of the game.
When rested well and managed under a proper system with clearly defined roles, Busquets can offer plenty to Barcelona. Who better to get the best out of him than Xavi who shared so many years playing alongside him for Barcelona and Spain?
#1 Ousmane Dembele
It’s true we cannot predict the future and a lot of the assumptions here also hinge on Ousmane Dembele remaining fit for large stretches of the calendar. However, the early signs look extremely promising for a player of his profile.
Against Espanyol, Xavi started with 17-year-old Ilias Akhomach on the left flank. Like Dembele, Ilias is also left-footed, fast and likes to have a go at the defenders. Ilias constantly held the width on the right flank akin to what Pedro used to do under Pep Guardiola at Barcelona.
When on the ball, he tried to get past the opposition right back, and either combine with Depay and Nico Gonzalez to get inside the box or slot in a cross at the near post.
Xavi also deployed EZ Abde as well as Yusuf Demir on the right flank and all three players were given the license to make runs and take on their opposing full-backs. Ousmane Dembele will also be tasked with this role when he returns from injury and the Frenchman is a much better player than Ilias, Abde or Demir.
Xavi has already talked about trying to make Dembele one of the best players in the world and the winger will already be licking his lips at the opportunity. There were already clear signs of progress as Dembele started to make more off-the-ball runs under Ronald Koeman last season.
If he can remain fit and buy into Xavi’s vision, maybe we can finally see Dembele realizing the potential he has always had.
