Copa del Rey 2018/19: Levante vs Barcelona

Although it might not be every clubs, or every fans, favourite competition, the Copa del Rey manages to surprise us every year. While it is not a surprise that smaller clubs beat the bigger ones, it always brings a special flavour along the way. Barcelona travelled to Valencia to face the other Blaugrana of La Liga, Levante and experienced a déjà vu of some sorts.

The Frogs have once again successfully leapt over the Catalan giants to secure a huge win at Estadi Ciutat de València but the away team got one back in the final stretch to keep their hopes of a yet another title defence alive and kicking.

This tactical analysis will use statistics to explain how the underdog overthrew the favourite in an open battle for the quarterfinals of the tournament.

Lineups

Barcelona (4-3-3)

Starting XI: Cillessen  Semedo, Murillo, Chumi, Miranda  Aleña, Busquets, Vidal  Malcom, Dembele, Coutinho

Bench: Ter Stegen, Lenglet, Wague, Arthur, Denis, Puig, Sergi

Coach: Ernesto Valverde

Levante (3-5-2)

Starting XI: Aitor  Mayoral, Chema, Simon, Prcic, Coke, Postigo, Rochina, Cabaco, Boateng, Campaña

Bench: Koke Vegas, Toño Garcia, Doukoure, Morales, Pedro Lopez, Raphael, Jason

Coach: Paco Lopez

Barcelona’s set-up

The first part of the season is now firmly behind us and the hectic schedule for those who want to compete on all fronts starts now and is not going to slow down anytime soon. Barcelona are one of those contenders that chase the famous treble but this time, Ernesto Valverde has decided to prioritize Champions League over the cup.

This resulted in a completely shuffled deck without many of the big names. Jasper Cillessen was back between the sticks and was guarded by a completely new back-four that saw the debut of Jeison Murillo in a completely new partnership with Chumi, the Barcelona B defender, and with Semedo and Miranda on the full-back positions.

Sergio Busquets was the captain