After Juve - Barca: Everything depends on the midfield

(Baonghean.vn) - Once again, the defense of the 'Catalan giant' received criticism, but the midfield was the culprit.

The midfield has been considered the heart of Barca's tiki-taka style of play for many years. In important matches against powerful opponents, the midfield of the Camp Nou team often plays a decisive role in the final outcome.

The defeat against Juve in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals is a concrete proof of that. Barca's midfield with the names Iniesta - Mascherano - Rakitic had a poor performance, creating conditions for the home team Juve to have a fairly easy victory.

Barca's first goal came from defender Mathieu's marking error with Cuadrado on the right wing in Juve's attacking direction. After a few turns, Cuadrado passed the ball to teammate Dybala in an empty position in Barca's penalty area, the striker wearing the number 21 shirt turned and shot with his left foot towards the far corner, forcing goalkeeper Stegen to helplessly watch the ball go into the net.

Mathieu's mistake is undeniable, however, the person most to blame for Dybala's opening goal is captain Iniesta.

Iniesta helplessly watched Dybala score against Stegen. Photo: Internet

In the situation where Cuadrado held the ball, Iniesta should have supported his teammates to cover the gaps by following Dybala who was standing comfortably waiting for the ball. If Iniesta had read the situation better and been more proactive, Dybala would not have easily received Cuadrado's pass, let alone successfully finished the ball into Stegen's net. In this case, Iniesta only reacted passively, symbolically and watched the ball from Dybala's feet go into the net.

Iniesta's defensive mistakes can be forgiven because he is a pure attacking midfielder. But in the role of leader of the midfield, the conductor of the team, the Spanish midfielder has not yet fully utilized his inherent ability.

During the 90 minutes at Juventus Arena, captain Iniesta often lost the ball due to the pressing and aggressive play of the opposing players. The slow ball handling affected the attacking tempo of Barca, thus making it easy for the Juve defense to neutralize. "Conductor" Iniesta played ineffectively, Barca was no different from a discordant orchestra against Juve.

Another basis to accuse Iniesta in Barca's defeat. In the 20th minute, Messi had a delicate pass, eliminating the entire Juve defense, putting Iniesta in a 1-on-1 situation with goalkeeper Buffon. Unfortunately, the kick of the player wearing the number 8 shirt could not defeat the experienced goalkeeper of the home team.

Immediately after Iniesta's miss, goalkeeper Stegen had to pick the ball out of the net for the second time, and Dybala was the one to score. If Iniesta had handled the situation correctly when facing Buffon, the match would have gone in a different direction.

Alongside Iniesta's poor form is Mascherano. Coach Luis Enrique trusted him to replace Busquets in the holding midfield role, but what the Argentine player did left everyone disappointed.

Barca's second and third goals came from Mascherano's mistakes. Dybala's goal to make it 2-0 was largely contributed by Mascherano. In a situation where Juve players organized a quick counter-attack, Mascherano could not keep up with the situation and let Dybala receive the ball quite comfortably before unleashing a tricky shot that defeated Stegen.

In the second half, coach Luis Enrique took off the worst player, Matthieu, and returned Mascherano to the center-back position. Luis Enrique's change of tactics was not only due to the French defender's poor performance but also because Mascherano failed to show anything in the middle of the field.

Apart from fierce ball-winning situations, the Argentine midfielder did not contribute much in terms of reading situations and covering for his teammates. Looking at Mascherano, the Cules miss Busquets even more.

Returning to the center back, the former Liverpool player immediately made a mistake in the situation of marking Chiellini. The third goal that Stegen had to concede came from Mascherano's mistake. The match against Juve was truly a disaster for the player wearing the number 14 shirt.

Mascherano could not keep up with Dybala, allowing him to score a goal to increase the score to 2-0. Photo: Internet

The remaining player in Barca's 3-man midfield formation in the starting lineup was Rakitic. Although he did not make fatal mistakes like his teammates, the Croatian midfielder also played at an average level. From defense to attack, Rakitic did not leave any outstanding impression.

This is not too surprising because this season, the midfielder born in 1988 has lost his form miserably. He has sat on the bench more than he has played. Most likely, Rakitic's time at Camp Nou is not much left.

Without impressive individual moves, unable to connect with the surrounding satellites, Barca's midfield only revolved around harmless passing and passing in the midfield area. Barca's midfield performance has become familiar to fans since Luis Enrique took the head coach's seat at Camp Nou. Therefore, the failure of Messi and his teammates at Juventus Arena was predicted in advance.

It seems that the prospect of empty-handedness in the two major arenas Champions League and La Liga is about to become a reality for Barca. That outcome comes from the midfield led by Luis Enrique./.

Thanh Hung