Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde said that it was very important to start the second half of La Liga with a win. As the league leaders, Barcelona had 43 points and six consecutive wins. Leganes, however, had 22 points and were placed 13th.
As one would expect, the leaders won comfortably 3-1. However, the battle on the pitch wasn’t reflected in the scoreline. Here, using statistics we analyse how this match played out.
Lineups
Barcelona (4-3-3)
Starting XI: Ter Stegen; Roberto, Piqué, Vermaelen, Alba; Arthur, Busquets, Aleñá; Dembélé, Suárez, Coutinho
Bench: Cillessen, Semedo, Murillo, Rakitic, Vidal, Malcom, Messi
Leganes (3-4-1-2)
Starting XI: Cuéllar; Tarín, Omeruo, Siovas; Nyom, Vesga, Recio, Silva; Rodríguez; Braithwaite, En-Nesyri
Bench: Juanfran, Gumbau, El Zhar, Kravets, Eraso, Santos, Lunin
Overview
Barcelona had won four out of their last five games against Leganes. The fact that they lost 2-1 in their last encounter this season just made this match more interesting. Considering Velverdes conservative rotation, the lineup was a surprise. Lionel Messi not starting made things a lot more interesting.
The scoreline might suggest Barcelona put in a dominating display. However, the match was far from one-sided. Granted, Barcelona created a lot more chances and had the majority of possession. But had Leganes been more effective in their attacking, it would be a different story.
Leganes were wasteful with the chances they had, while even Barcelona werent particularly efficient either. However, the chances created were of a much higher quality and quantity, which made the difference. Like every great team, the Catalans made their opponents look worse than they actually played.
What went wrong for Leganes
Leganes put in a reasonable performance, considering they were facing the leaders of La Liga. The problems came down to a few factors, most notably lack of possession, inefficiency, ill discipline and failing to adapt.
Any team facing Barcelona knows that keeping possession will be a problem. A strategy in accordance with that is essential in trying to win. Leganes however only held 28% possession. This problem was caused by principally by the passing of Barcelona and the midfield of Leganes.
Barcelona always pass the ball extremely well. However, for Leganes this passing was too fast to stop. Barcelona made a stunning 683 passes with 88% accuracy. Compared to Levantes disappointing 200 passes with 67% accuracy, it was clear why passing played a huge role.
Taking a look at Leganes midfielders, Rodriguez and Recio, their performance was lacklustre. Together, they made approximately 77% accurate passes, which was not all too bad. However, they played only one key pass.
Barcelona pass masters
When it came to Barcelona’s midfield, however, Busquets and Arthur made 141 passes combined with approximately 93% accuracy. The pairs total accounted for more than 70% of the passes registered by the whole Leganes team. This quick and accurate passing kept Barcelona on the front foot.
The times that Leganes did get an opportunity to attack, it was through counter-attacking. With a very sub-par midfield, Leganes were unable to build up attacks. Brazilian midfielder Arthur won five out of his seven duels. Although veteran Busquets won five out of 11, he also made two interceptions to stop counters before they even started. The third midfielder, Carles Aleña, played a very attacking role. As we shall see later, he was one of the best performers.
Defensive lines
Barcelona shouldnt have conceded at all. A very simple mistake caused Leganes to regain hope. As with most of Leganes attacks, this was a counter-attack. Gaining possession in midfield, the ball came to En-Neyseri. Here, he crosses it into the box. Meanwhile, Braithwaite has been making a run into the box. His diagonal run behind Pique caught the Barcelona defender wrong-footed, making for a simple finish.
