La Liga 2019/20: Barcelona vs Real Betis – tactical analysis

Barcelona are finally off the mark in the 2019/20 La Liga season as the Catalans clinched their first three points at the Camp Nou against Real Betis. After the initial shock and falling behind, Ernesto Valverde’s troops rallied behind Antoine Griezmann and co. and really ran over their opposition, winning 5-2 on the night.

This tactical analysis will look into both teams’ tactics and use analysis to see just how Barcelona dominated and won their first La Liga game by stomping Real Betis.

Lineups

Barcelona lined up in a familiar 4-3-3 shape but with rather experimental names in the fold. The backline saw some familiar faces but the middle and the forward lines were changed tremendously.

Sergio Busquets returned to his position of the team’s defensive midfielder and was accompanied by the newcomer, Frenkie de Jong, and Sergi Roberto. Up front, with the injuries of Ousmane Dembélé, Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez, Valverde decided to field Antoine Griezmann at the centre-forward role and Rafinha and Carles Pérez on the flanks.

Real Betis also saw some changes to their lineup. Rubi fielded them in a 4-4-2 system but with some personnel changes. With Joel Robles out with a red card suspension, Martín Fernández was in-between the sticks. The rest of the backline remained unchanged but Rubi opted for three more changes up front.

He ditched the double pivot and deployed a quartet of midfielders with Guardado and Canales making their return to the lineup. Instead of a sole striker, we saw a tandem of Nabil Fekir and Loren Morón leading the charge.

Barcelona dominate but can’t penetrate Real Betis’ shape

While it is far too early to be talking about a drastic switch in tactics, but Real Betis seemed to have adopted a different approach now that Rubi has taken over the team. Quique Setien’s Real Betis came to Camp Nou to attack and fight fire with fire but on the weekend, the green-and-whites came only to survive.