La Liga 2018/19: Rayo Vallecano vs Barcelona

This article originally featured on our dedicated Barcelona analysis site, barcelonaanalysis.com.

If there is something bothering Barcelona nowadays it’s the away games, for sure. Whenever Blaugrana find themselves far away from their fortress, and the green grass of the Camp Nou, they struggle to find their footing. Luckily, that doesn’t always necessarily result in lost points but even the supposedly easy games turn to sufferings in those instances.

After bashing Real Madrid with yet another manita, it seemed like a 19^th placed Rayo Vallecano would be a field trip, to say the least. Its safe to say it wasn’t. Barcelona needed two late goals to first level things and then come from behind to snatch all three points in the fiery atmosphere of the Spanish capital. This, however, ensured that the Catalans now stay top of the table, stretching the gap between them and Atletico Madrid to four points.

This tactical analysis will use some statistics and insight to try and find the reason behind the hardship Barcelona found at Campo de Futbol de Vallecas in Madrid.

Line ups

Barça: Ter Stegen  Sergi, Pique, Lenglet, Alba  Rakitić, Busquets, Arthur  Rafinha, Suarez, Coutinho

Bench: Semedo, Dembele, Cillessen, Alenya, Munir, Vidal, Chumi

Coach: Ernesto Valverde

Rayo Vallecano: A.Garcia  L.Advincula, A.Galves, J.Amat, A.Moreno  A.Embarba, G.Imbula, S.Comesana, O.Trejo, A.Garcia  R. de Tomas

Bench: Kakuta, Dimitrievski, Bebe, Alegria, Velazquez, Ba, Pozo

Coach: Miguel Ángel Sánchez Muñoz (Michel)

The setup

Barcelona

Although it should no longer come as a surprise, Ernesto Valverde managed to once again raise some eyebrows when it came to team selection. He opted for his standard 4-3-3 formation, which was not the problem, but he also decided to field the same 11 players that played (and won) the Clasico last week.

Last season when we witnessed the lack of rotation, the coach defended himself with the excuse that his bench was not really good enough. Granted, that was, for the most part, true. This season, however, squad depth has been resolved and the players who are constantly sitting on the bench are not only worth millions of euros but are also some of the most promising young talents in Europe.

That makes his decision to not rotate against a 19