FC Barcelona vs. Real Sociedad 1-0 Copa Del Rey Quarterfinals: Dembele’s SPECTACULAR Performance

The Barca Breakdown discussed matchday 5 away in Cadiz. A team that is 20th on the table with ZERO points and ZERO goals on the charts. Seeing Barca have their first huge match of the season against Bayern on Tuesday, Xavi chose a lineup that featured less starters. Bellerin started as right back alongside Araujo, Pique, and Balde while the midfield started with Frenkie, giving Pedri a rest. Memphis and Torres were the attacking front with Raphinha.    As the lineup is very fresh, it was expected to have a slower start. Most goal scoring attempts came from the left side of the field, however, the finishing touches were sloppy and off the mark. Torres continued to sky the ball into the stands and Depay continued to shoot low and weak at the goalie, making for easy saves. A great output was seen from Frenkie and Gavi while Busquets held the midfield ground. However no goals were scored and Cadiz was able to play a heavy defensive line to crowd the box.    The second half started with no substitutes. But it was the starting XI that could score the game opener. Raphinha runs up the right side of the pitch getting the ball to Gavi who crosses the ball and the goalie blocks it. The rebound fell to Frenkie de Jong who put in the opening goal. After this moment, the game opens up as Cadiz must score to equalize or lose the game. Xavi then puts on Dembele, Fati, and Lewandowski. Not long after, Bellerin makes a run down the right pitch and gets the ball to Raphinha who crosses the ball into Frenkie and a Cadiz defender. The ball slips off and Lewandowki slides in for the goal! In the 80' the game was paused due to a person in the crowd falling ill. After about a 45 minute delay the game resumed. Fati was able to score in the box from an assist from Lewy and another goal from Dembele! The game ends 0-4 and Barca take another 3 points.    The Breakdown looks forward to the midweek Bayern game. Where Barca will face their first huge test of the season.

10 Sep 202220min

The Barca Breakdown discussed the champions league season opener against Plzen with goals from Lewandowski and Dembele. While Barca fell in the Group of Death (again), Plzen were the least threatening. However, Barca could not afford to lose points in the group as Barca will play Bayern Munich and Inter Milano. The Bayern game is next Tuesday and it's safe to say Xavi wants his most trusted starting XI ready and rested. So in today's game, we saw an interesting line-up which included Alba and Roberto as fullbacks, Frenkie, Pedri, and Kessie in the midfield, and Fati with his first start alongside Dembele and Lewandowski. The game opened up a little rusty, with Barca losing the ball which led to some fast breaks for Plzen. After a few close calls from Plzen, Barca adjusted. Suddenly, Barca were on the ball consistently and maintained possession in the attacking half. Plzen became helpless as they scrambled to cover the gaps in their defense. The game exploded wide open after Dembele's corner came soaring to Kounde. Kounde headed the ball to Kessie and Kessie put the goal away. The next 3 goals came from a hattrick by none other than Robert Lewandowski! His assists came from Roberto, Dembele, and Ferran Torres. The last goal was scored by Torres with an assist from Demebele. Overall, Lewandsowki and Dembele were equally magnificent in the Champions League opener. The team was able to dominate possession and capitalize on Plzen's mistakes. The Barca squad also put in high effort offensively and defensively, constantly looking to score and get the ball back. While the Barca squad did a fantastic job, it must be said that Plzen did not perform very well. They clearly could not match the caliber of Barca and were not prepared. Despite this, Barca put out a completely dominant performance and should be applauded for their hard work! The Breakdown looks to the weekend as we play Cadiz and next week's Champions League game in Munich.

8 Sep 202218min

The Barca Breakdown discussed the away victory against Sevilla. Coming into the game Barca had just come off a 4-0 win against Villadolid and Sevilla only had 1 point in 4 games. Xavi also decided to use the same line up against Villadolid, but started Dembele on the left side and Raphinha on the right.    In the first 20 minutes, Barca struggled to move the ball forward as Sevilla dropped their defense into their defensive half. This was also difficult to deal with because our midfields were pushed too far forward. However, Gavi dropped back and was able to intercept and steal the ball from Sevilla. This was the catalyst to Barca's success. In the 21' minute, Gavi intercepted the ball and was able to find Dembele running down the left wing. Lewandowski receives the ball and chips it over the goalie, but a defender knocks it before it makes it past the goal line. Luckily, Raphinha had tracked on the right side and headers the ball in to make the opening goal.   After this moment, Sevilla wasn't able to hold Barca back. By the end of the first half Barca were up 0-2 with an assist from Kounde to Lewandowski for an astounding goal. The third goal came from a nice set piece from Dembele and Raphinha to Erica Garcia in the box. After this, the game was sealed and Sevilla could not come back.    Barca look forward to the midweek champions league game against Plzen, then Cadiz on the weekend, and lastly face off against Bayern Munich.

3 Sep 202213min

The Barca Breakdown discussed the debate of who should start, Frenkie or Gavi and Barcelona's choices for wingers. Special guest Jaleel, aka ThePurist_ on Twitter, joins us to give his insight.   Gavi and Frenkie both have their strengths and weaknesses, but the differential in minutes seems to favor Gavi. We discuss why Xavi prefers Gavi and why haven't we seen more Frenkie. What type of match do each of these players prosper in and has Xavi figured this out?   Then there's the discussion of Dembele and Raphinha playing at the same time. It clear that both of them perform better on the right wing. If this is the case, should be be playing them both at the same time if they both ar best on the right? What about the left wing? Raphinha is not the only option on the left wing. Barca still have Fati and Ferran Torres. But both have recently come back from injury and have yet to reach their forms.    One thing is for sure, Barca have many options and can experiment in the coming season.

2 Sep 202224min

The Barca Breakdown discussed the 4-0 victory against Valladolid. After much anticipation, Xavi started Kounde as the right back alongside Araujo, Garcia, and Balde. Again, Frenkie De Jong lost the starting position to Gavi. And the seemingly standard starting front line of Rahpinha, Dembele, and Lewandowski kicked off at the Camp Nou.    The possession was dominated by Barca in the whole 90'. This isn't particularly surprising as Valladolid had recently just returned from regulation and in previous seasons always fell to the bottom of the table. Barca attacked time and time again until Lewandowksi scored from a cross from Raphinha. This opened the game up as players were able to find the open pitch and make runs through the midfield. The wingers dropped to the middle which pulled defenders back allowing Gavi and Pedri to run up the pitch into the box. Many times Gavi was able to get the ball in the box, but held on too long or was covered too quickly. Then the play dies.   Moving forward though Dembele lit up the match with two assists. The first was a pass to Pedri at the middle of the penalty box and the second came to Lewy in which he back healed it into the net. Lastly, Lewy just misses a hat trick off the crossbar and Roberto smashes it back. Barca geet another 3 points. However, Valladolid performed very poorly, and this game cannot be completely representative of Barca in its peak performance. Barca just drew Bayern and Inter Milan in the Champions League and these games will be much more of a test of Barca's capabilities.

28 Aug 202217min

The Barca Breakdown discussed victory in Anoeta against Real Sociedad. Barcelona take their first W of the season with a 1-4 scoreline. While the scoreline maybe flattering, Barca certainly struggled to break the tie until the 60'.    The game changed when Xavi subbed in Fati and Raphinha, which provided a much stronger threat. Quickly, La Real found themselves at the mercy of Fati of which provided an assit to Dembele and scored a goal for himself.    But who was responsible for this victory. Xavi utilized a 3-2-2-3, or some might call it a 3-4-3, formation. In this set up Araujo played as a right back but had to cover more space as he was Barca weren't playing with their traditional back 4. In this situation Araujo is already playing out of position. Ferran Torres played in the middle behind Lewandowski. The midfield was set up as a double pivot of Frenkie and Pedri. Lastly, Dembele had to play more defensive to cover the space Araujo would normally cover. None of this seemed to be working. It wasn't until the sun's came in, the game lit up.    So, yes, Xavi put these players in, but did they succeed because of him, or was it their individual skill/brilliance that lead Barca to Victory?

24 Aug 202216min

The BarcaBreakdown discuss FC Barcelona’s 1-4 victory against Real Sociedad at Anoeta. Xavi’s surprising starting eleven clearly did not work, though Pedri, Balde and Lewandowski combined for a fantastic goal in the game’s opening minute. However, Araujo as RB, Frenkie De Jong as pivot, and Ferran Torres working inside with Lewandowski left us open to a counter and early goal to tie the game 1-1 by Isak.   Overall, Xavi tried a new 3-4-3 (3-2-3-1?) lineup that did not work for the first 60 minutes of the game. The substitutions of Ansu Fati and Raphinha immediately changed the complexion of the game, as Fati assisted Dembele and Lewandowski before scoring his own goal to lead the 1-4 victory. Fati proved again why he is FC Barcelona’s #10, and how absolutely magical he is when healthy and playing consistently. Unfortunately, Ferran Torres (who made only 1 appearance in preseason) looked very rusty and out of position as he was not dribbling in from the wings.   Christensen again had a great game in defense, and he is continuing to prove why Xavi is relying on him as a starting centerback. Eric Garcia put in a good shift, though he was unlucky Frenkie gave the ball away and put Garcia in a bad position for the Isak goal.   We hope to see Xavi continue to tinker with the team and find the best lineup to improve our defence and midfield. The signing of Kounde will be critical to make sure he can cover the RB or RWB spot this season.

21 Aug 202216min

The BarcaBreakdown discuss the issues FC Barcelona and Xavi are facing after a draw to Rayo Vallecano fell well short of expectations. With the additions of Lewandowski, Raphinha, Christensen (and now Kounde), Xavi needs time to develop Barca. However, some fans are worried about a continuous trend from Xavi’s side, so the BarcaBreakdown tackle the issues he must conquer! First, we discuss how Ronald Araujo playing as a full back against Rayo did not go well, and our believe that Araujo should only be played there against very threatening wingers. Araujo lacks the ability, like we saw Xavi use with Dani Alves last season, to act as an inverted full back. This role is crucial as it allows the full back to act as a second pivot and help facilitate the ball and draw defenders away from the interiors and wingers. It will be interesting to see if Xavi continues to not believe in Sergino Dest and whether Barca sell him in the next few weeks. Kounde may be a better option at right back, though we will need to see Kounde perform there over the next few weeks to understand if he is a good fit. One of the revelations from Rayo was that Frenkie De Jong still plays a large role in this FC Barcelona side, even after all of the rumors of his departure have been circling this month.

18 Aug 202222min