Cunning Koeman: How new-look Barcelona pressed Sevilla into submission

In a fierce battle between two bitter rivals in La Liga, Sevilla welcomed Barcelona to Andalusia as the two giants squared off at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium. In a perhaps surprising turn of events, Ronald Koemans troops edged out their opposition in a 2-0 victory on the day.

But what was even more impressive is how theyve done it, completely outplaying Sevilla to claim the three points. This tactical analysis will aim to reveal both teams tactics and tell you how Barcelona won the match.

Lineups

Julen Lopetegui opted for a 4-2-3-1 structure on the day as Yassine Bounou was protected by a quartet that consisted of Sergio Escudero, Diego Carlos, Jules Koundé and Jesús Navas. In midfield, the home side deployed Fernando and Joan Jordán down the middle channels while Ivan Rakitić joined Munir and Papu Gómez just behind Luuk de Jong.

This structure and lineup ended up being quite lacking against Barcelona’s tactics so Lopetegui had to made some big changes at one point in the second half.

Koeman, on the other hand, decided to innovate. Instead of the traditional 4-3-3, we saw this new-look Barcelona in a 3-5-2 formation in possession and a variation between 4-4-2 and 5-3-2 in the defensive phase. Jordi Alba and Sergiño Dest acted as wing-backs while Ousmane Dembélé was given a more central role with less defensive responsibility.

With the introduction of the three-in-the-back, Barcelona were able to get the best out some of their key players, which will be further dissected in this tactical analysis.

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