The most exciting contest in Gameweek 4 of the UEFA Champions League saw Club Brugge and Barcelona play out a thrilling 3-3 draw, with numerous chances at both ends of the pitch.
The draw leaves some question marks for Hansi Flick’s side, who have now won only three of their last seven matches and sit outside the top eight of the Champions League table.
Included in those seven matches was an El Clásico loss to Real Madrid and a shocking 4-1 loss to Sevilla.
Nicky Hayen’s team have pulled off some historic upsets in the past, like a 4-1 statement win over AS Monaco earlier in this Champions League campaign.
However, they were coming off a 2-1 loss to Atalanta and a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Bayern Munich in their previous Champions League matches.
Barcelona dominated possession, but their high line allowed Brugge numerous high-quality chances.
As a result, Barcelona had to overcome a deficit three different times to level the match.
In this tactical analysis, we will look into how Barcelona’s tactics in the final third were able to exploit Club Brugge’s low block and how Club Brugge exposed Barcelona’s high line to score three goals.
Club Brugge Vs Barcelona Lineups & Formations
Club Brugge came out in their favoured 4-2-3-1 formation.
Nordin Jackers started in net behind Joel Ordóñez and Brandon Mechele as the centre-back pairing.
Joaquin Seys started at left-back, while Kyriani Sabbe occupied his usual spot at right-back.
Raphael Onyedika and Aleksandar Stanković started together as the two central midfielders.
Hans Vanaken started as the ‘10’ while Christos Tzolis operated as the left winger alongside Carlos Forbs at right wing.
Nicolo Tresoldi occupied his usual spot up top as the striker.
Nicky Hayen made four substitutions in the match.
In the 78th minute, Mamadou Diakhon replaced Carlos Forbs, and Romeo Vermant replaced Nicolo Tresoldi.
In the 84th minute, Lynnt Audoor replaced Raphael Onyedika.
The final substitution came in the 87th minute when Hugo Vetlesen replaced an injured Lynnt Audoor.
Hansi Flick also lined his Barcelona side up in their usual 4-2-3-1 formation.
Wojciech Szczęsny started in goal for the eighth straight match for Barcelona behind Ronald Araújo and Eric García as the centre-back pairing.
Alejandro Balde started at left-back, while Jules Koundé started at right-back.
Frenkie de Jong started alongside Marc Casado as the central midfield pairing.
Fermin López started in his usual spot as the number ‘10’ with Lamine Yamal on the right wing and Marcus Rashford at left wing.
Ferrán Torres started as the striker for the third straight match.
Hansi Flick made five substitutions in the match.
In the 58th minute, Robert Lewandowski came on for Ferrán Torres, and Dani Olmo came on for Marc Casado.
In the 83rd minute, Roony Bardghji came on for Marcus Rashford.
The final substitutions came in the 93rd minute when Gerard Martín came on for Alejandro Balde, and Pau Cubarsí came on for Eric García.
Barcelona Final Third Tactics
A majority of the match was spent in Brugge’s final third.
Barcelona finished the match holding 75% possession and had an 83.5% field tilt.
That is mainly because Brugge were not pressuring the ball and instead sat back in a 4-2-3-1 mid block when Barcelona were building out from the back.
Barcelona were really trying to hurt Brugge down the left side of the pitch for most of the first half.
Rashford was continually pinning the right back Kyriani Sabbe inside, which allowed Balde to have space to push forward down the left-hand side.
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