La Liga 2018/19 Tactical Analysis: Eibar vs Barcelona

And just like that the 2018/19 La Liga campaign is all wrapped up. The team to win it was also the team to get the last kick of the season as Barcelona, the defending and the reigning champions, travelled to Eibar for the last game and one final draw to see the competition out in a rather relaxed atmosphere.

This tactical analysis will look to break down the game that saw the end of the Spanish Primera and yet another success for the Blaugrana Catalan giant.

Lineup

Barcelona (4-1-4-1)

Starting XI: Cillessen  Semedo, Piqué, Lenglet, Alba  Rakitić, Busquets, Vidal  Sergi, Messi, Malcom

Bench: Iñaki Peña, Wagué, Umtiti, Aleñá, Pérez, Puig, Ruiz

Coach: Ernesto Valverde

Eibar (4-4-2)

Starting XI: Dmitrović  De Blasis, Oliveira, Ramis, Cote  Orellana, Escalante, Jordán, Cucu  Sergi Enrich, Charles

Bench: Riesgo, Calavera, Sergio, Cardona, Diop, Kike, León

Coach: José Mendilibar

Barcelona’s setup

Even though we may have expected or wanted Ernesto Valverde to use these final games to give some youth players a chance to shine, the Ant once again played it pretty safe in his personnel choice. As a result, Barcelona’s gala XI was exactly that – as gala as the injuries allowed.

Jasper Cillessen was in-between the sticks, deputising for the injured Marc-André ter Stegen and getting some game time before the Copa del Rey final. Arthur Melo, Ousmane Dembélé, Luis Suárez and Philippe Coutinho were the other names that were sidelined because of injuries which meant that the likes of Malcom and Nelson Semedo would come into the picture.

Surprisingly, both Semedo and Se