How Villarreal surprised Barcelona but still ended up with a draw in La Liga

What seemed like a routine three-pointer for Barcelona ended up being one of the most intense matches the Catalans have played in a rather long time. Not many have challenged the Blaugrana the way relegation-bound Villarreal did at the Cerámica stadium on Tuesday night. The game started exactly as most would have expected but no-one could have predicted a four-all goal fest given the difference on paper between the two competitors.

Still, the Yellow Submarine really came out swinging and did not stop until their opponnents were on the floor. In the end, Barcelona had to turn to their big guns to bring a point home in a sour visit that, in a way, turned into a heroic comeback, and ultimately heartbreak for Villarreal.

This tactical analysis will use statistics to try and put some logic behind the chaos that ensued at the Cerámica when two extremely attacking teams who seemingly forgot to defend met.

Lineups

Barcelona (4-3-3)

Starting XI: Ter Stegen  Sergi, Lenglet, Umtiti, Alba  Vidal, Busquets, Arthur  Malcom, Suarez, Coutinho

Bench: Iñaki Peña, Piqué, Semedo, Aleñá, Rakitić, Boateng, Messi

Coach: Ernesto Valverde

Villarreal (3-4-2-1)

Starting XI: Asenjo, Mario Gaspar, Alvaro, Funes Mori, Victor Ruiz, Iborra, Pedraza, Toko Ekambi, Cazorla, Morlanes, Samu

Bench: Andres Fdez., Caseres, Bacca, Raba, Bonera, Ivan Martin, Quintilla

Coach: Javier Calleja Revilla

Barcelona’s setup

You could say that the mileage in Barcelona’s legs has finally taken its toll on their stamina and fatigue is definitely kicking in. Whether it was the hectic schedule, the all-important Champions League clash against Manchester United next Tuesday or simply confidence in the bench getting the job done, Ernesto Valverde has opted to do what he has been called on for so long: rotate.

And rotate he did. To be more precise, he decided to remove a single pillar from each of Barcelona’s three lines. Gerard Piqué, who until this game had officially played every minute in the current La Liga campaign, was rested and replaced by the returning-to-fitness Samuel Umtiti, Ivan Rakitić was also sidelined in favour of Arturo Vidal, and finally, the biggest omission of the three included none other than Lionel Messi. The little Argentine was rested and out-of-favour Malcom was given a shot right from the start.

The rest of th