5 reasons why Barcelona will win the Champions League this season

#3 Valverde's tactics: High pressing

Ernesto Valverde's tactics seem to be working for the team

High pressing has been missing in the big games for Barcelona in the past two seasons. But it seems to have made a return this season, which was very evident in the match against Juventus. Juventus have themselves been known for their defensive prowess, but according to WhoScored.com, Barca made 12 tackles in a game where Juventus made just 9 tackles even though Barca had the ball for 64% of the time.

Compare this to last season's quarterfinal against Juventus, they lost the ball a lot more, as well as having lesser number of tackles than Juve. The pressing has been clear when watching Barcelona's matches which give a better picture than the stats.

The high pressing has been effective at cutting passing and shot lanes, which is something the Barcelona team was criticized heavily for in their losses to PSG and Juventus in the Champions League last season.

Historically, the greatest Barcelona teams - the treble winning teams under Guardiola and Enrique had very good pressing, and to see its return is what fans have been waiting for. If Barcelona continue in this vein of form, pressing in all areas of the pitch, they will be a very difficult team to deal with.