Barcelona 5-2 Valencia: 5 Talking Points and Tactical Analysis | La Liga Analysis 19/20

#4 Barcelona’s new look midfield seems the right path forward

De Jong was sensational in midfield

For the first time in the 2019-20 season, Ernesto Valverde decided to field the midfield trio of Arthur Melo, de Jong and Sergio Busquets. In earlier games, the Spaniard had opted for a much more pragmatic approach, meaning one of the three invariably missed out.

However, the change on Saturday showed that Valverde was willing to shake things up and on evidence, the aforementioned triumvirate looks best equipped to handle any challenge thrown at Barcelona.

Throughout the game, the midfielders kept asking for the ball in tight areas and spread the ball efficiently. The above allowed the Blaugrana to impose themselves on the game and ensure that they didn’t give away possession cheaply.

Additionally, with Arthur and Busquets alongside, De Jong was allowed to roam further forward and the Dutchman enjoyed himself thoroughly.

On numerous occasions, he exploited the half-space between Gabriel Paulista and Jose Gaya, enabling Barcelona to create instances of numerical superiority.

The strategy helped the midfielder carve out the opening goal for Ansu Fati. De Jong’s driving runs nearly created another when he set up Antoine Griezmann in the 64th minute. Unfortunately, the Frenchman’s effort was thwarted by the keeper.

More importantly though, the three-man midfield helped the Blaugrana control the game better, an aspect that has gone slightly pear-shaped this term.

Thus, at this juncture, the Barcelona faithful would hope that Valverde doesn’t revert to a defensive approach, especially away from home.

After all, a circumspect brand of football has never really been the Blaugrana’s forte in the 21st century and with midfielders of the ilk of Arthur, Busquets and De Jong in the ranks, one would be extremely naïve to not play them in tandem more often.