UEFA Champions League 2018/19: PSV Eindhoven vs Barcelona

Barcelona travelled to Eindhoven and got the job done. This, for most of the other teams and their fans, would usually be enough. But not for the Blaugrana supporters who demand both the result and the performance. The latter was missing for the most parts of the game against PSV and it did not go unnoticed.

Credit has to be given to the hosts who played an excellent game of football for almost 90 minutes nonstop but were lacking the deadliness and calmness in front of goal. Another factor was, again, Lionel Messi, who, again, defied all the laws known to man only to propel his team to victory with a goal and an assist.

This tactical analysis will use statistics in order to explain how Barcelona secured the vital points on their way to the round of 16 of the Champions League as group winners.

Line ups

Barcelona (4-3-3)

Starting XI: Ter Stegen; Semedo, Pique, Lenglet, Alba; Busquets, Rakitić, Vidal; Messi, Dembele, Coutinho

Subs: Iñaki Peña, Denis Suárez, Malcom, Munir, Aleñá, Miranda, Chumi.

Coach: Ernesto Valverde

PSV (4-3-1-2)

Starting XI: Zoet; Dumfries, Schwaab, Viergever, Angelino; Hendrix, Pereiro, Rosario; de Jong; Bergwijn, Lozano

Subs: Behich, Romero, Room, Malen, Sainsbury, Gutierrez, Mauro Junior

Coach: Mark van Bommel

Barcelonas Setup

Although Barcelona already booked their place in the knockout stages of the Champions League with their draw at San Siro, Ernesto Valverde refused to risk topping the group by experimenting away from home.

Eindhoven is a tough place to visit so we saw what was the strongest 11 the Ant could have mustered, taking into consideration the staff that was available to him. His decision to force Samuel Umtiti to play the whole game in the clash against Atletico Madrid meant that the Frenchman is back on the injury list, and so was the Uruguayan, Luis Suarez.

In their places came Lenglet and Dembele respectively, while Lionel Messi took up the role of a “false nine” like in the olden days. Ivan Rakitić and Philippe Coutinho also returned to the squad while Arturo Vidal replaced the injured Arthur, and the same was true for Semedo who replaced Roberto.

The team lined up in a 4-3-3 formation.

PSV Setup

The ex-Blaugrana man, Mark van Bommel had a relatively easy job choosing his starters, or at least, he was not limited by any serious injury problems. His only concern was the exclusion of Ryan Thomas but other than that, no shocks were expected and none were experienced in the line up of the hosts.

Van Bommel once again opted for a 4-3-1-2 system against the Catalan giant, similar to the one he deployed at the Camp Nou when his team got stomped 4-0. Only this time, he changed it just a tad to accommodate his style of play and the personnel a bit better.

The same 11 fr