Barcelona 1-1 Real Madrid: 3 things we learned | Copa Del Rey 2018/19

#3 Barcelona’s midfield looked too flat and lacked creativity

Philippe Coutinho did not have an impact on the game

Barca started with a 3-man midfield comprising of Sergio Busquets, Arthur Melo and Ivan Rakitic, but did not look threating enough. Arturo Vidal came in as a substitute, but could not do enough to rejuvenate the Barca midfield. They lacked creativity and could not provide enough incisive passes to the forwards.

Barcelona’s midfield also lacked a player who could control the tempo of the game from the midfield. Xavi used to do it adroitly for them and allowed their forwards to reposition and reorganise themselves. However, the likes of Vidal and Arthur are primarily defensive players, and lack the finesse or creativity to make a big difference in the Barca midfield.

Rakitic was not in a great form either, and could not contribute much to Barcelona’s attack. Philippe Coutinho had to fall back to the midfield repeatedly and also took some shots from the edge of the penalty box, but those were not enough to trouble Keylor Navas, Madrid’s goalkeeper.