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FC Barcelona has been performing exceptionally well in their recent matches. They have won their last three LaLiga matches and also topped their group in the Champions League. Moreover, they have been drawn to face a much easier opponent in the form of Olympique Lyon in the round of 16 of the Champions League. Therefore, they would fancy their chances of winning the treble again, a feat they have achieved twice in the last 10 years.
The Blaugrana is well-known for their beautiful football and tactical improvisations. They have also been the pioneers in several tactical aspects of the game like playing the False 9, "tiki-taka".
The LaLiga champions lead the LaLiga table with 37 points from 17 matches and are ahead of their nearest competitors Atletico Madrid by 3 points. They have dealt with some injury problems to the likes of Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez at the beginning of the season but still been able to hold the pole position in the Spanish League.
We would now have a look at the three tactical factors which have enabled Barca to perform better in the recent matches.
#1 The Barcelona defenders possessing above-average passing skills
Most of the defenders in the world football are not very comfortable playing passes among themselves or to the forward line, but the Blaugrana defenders are an exception in this regard. Gerard Pique is quite well-known for his ball skills and found an able ally in Clement Lenglet, who has been very good in his debut season for Barca. Lenglet has cemented his place in the starting line-up and already appeared in 20 matches for them this season.
Pique and Lenglet frequently play passes between themselves and stretch themselves to span the width of the penalty box in order to avoid the high pressing of the opposition forwards. It is very difficult for the centre-backs to play successive wide and horizontal passes between themselves, but those two have been doing so with relative ease for the LaLiga champions this season.
The fullbacks also support the duo at times by helping them in exchanging passes. The above-average passing skills of the defensive quartet allow their midfielders and forwards to take control of the game.
#2 Providing through balls to the advancing fullbacks and wingers
Barcelona has adopted a 3-5-2 formation most of the times they have had the ball this season as Sergio Busquets have switched to the 3rd centre-back role. He has played as a de-facto sweeper and been in close proximity to the other two centre-backs to trigger the moves. Whenever Busquets has gone up the pitch to be near the half-line, the centre-backs have also moved up and played a high defensive line.
The Blaugrana defenders and midfielders have also been able to drag the opposition players to their own half by keeping the ball inside it and playing frequent passes among themselves.
Whenever the opposition players have ventured into the opposition half to retrieve the ball, the Barcelona midfielders have played long through balls to their advancing fullbacks and wingers in vacant spaces in the opposition half. That is why they have adopted a 3-5-2 formation when in possession. This strategy has frequently caught the opposition defence off-guard and helped them score a lot of goals.
#3 Lionel Messi combining brilliantly with the other forwards and the fullbacks
Lionel Messi is in ominous form in the recent matches and has scored 21 goals from his 20 games which includes a hat-trick this season. He has been playing as a centre-forward and combining intelligently with the likes of Dembele, Suarez and the full-backs. He normally used to play as a right-winger and cut inside through the right-inside channel by dribbling past the opposition defenders and take shots at their goal.
However, he has adopted a different approach this season and played brisk one-twos with the other forwards and advancing right-backs to create space in the opposition penalty box. Suarez has also sacrificed his original position as a centre-forward and switched to the flanks frequently to deliver crosses.
Dembele has been a revelation for the Catalan giants this season. He troubled their opposition with his rapid strides and good dribbling skills. The full-backs Nelson Semedo and Jordi Alba have also frequently exchanged passes with the Argentinian in or around the opposition's penalty box. The opposition defenders have found it extremely challenging to deal with the multiple attacking threats of the LaLiga champions.
