La Liga 2019/20: Celta Vigo vs. Barcelona – tactical analysis

Celta Vigo invited defending champions Barcelona at Estadio de Balaídos to contest the Matchday 32 of La Liga this week. Barcelona, who did not quite get the re-start that they wanted, needed three points to pressurize league leaders Real Madrid whereas Celta Vigo welcomed the Catalans following two wins in their previous matches. Quique Setiéns side have struggled with their away form this season, whereas Celta Vigo have been exceptional with their home performances, the latest one being 6-0 hammering of Deportivo Alavés.

The sides shared points with a 2-2 scoreline at the final whistle. While Barcelona took the lead twice, Celta Vigo equalized on both occasions to restrict the Blaugrana. In this tactical analysis, well be talking about the line-ups, tactics used by both the sides and how the fixture progressed. Similarly, the analysis will also talk about how Barcelona managed to give away the lead and why Celta Vigos counter tactics was spot-on.

Line-ups

With Rubén Blanco infront of the goal, Celta Vigo started with a 5-3-2 formation. Óscar Garcías five-man defence consisted of young Jacobo González and Kevin Vázquez as full-backs with Néstor Araujo, Joseph Aidoo, and Jorge Sáenz as the central defenders. The three-man midfield starred former Barcelona man Denis Suárez with Okay Yokuşlu and Brais Méndez. The dynamic duo of loanee Fyodor Smolov and Iago Aspas started out as the forwards.

Barcelona made three substitutions to the team that beat Athletic Bilbao. Marc-André ter Stegen started in front of the goal, accompanied by the four-man defence of Nélson Semedo, Gerard Piqué, Samuel Umtiti, and Jordi Alba. Clement Lenglet was rested with Umtiti in the starting line-up. Similarly, the midfield saw Riqui Puig get his first start of the season, replacing Arthur Melo. Similarly, Arturo Vidal retained his place whereas Ivan Rakitić came in for the suspended Sergio Busquets. Ansu Fati replaced Antoine Griezmann at the left-wing position as Luis Suárez and Lionel Messi started to complete the 4-3-3.

Barcelonas attack and build-up

Setién made started all three bench players that made an immediate impact in the Bilbao game. With the inclusion of Riqui Puig and Ansu Fati, Barcelonas attack looked sharp from the beginning, holding up to the ball well and playing through the Celta Vigo defence frequently. In possession, Barcelona maintained a three-man backline with Rakitić covering the central void between Piqué and Umtiti. This helped Barcelona to playout from the back and use Rakitić to supply the ball forward on transition.