Chelsea defeated Barcelona in a match that left a lot to be said. And boy do we have a lot to talk about.
First of all Chelsea rode their luck and really capitalized
on the one or two serious chances they got through their ever-green star,
Drogba, who incidentally spent a LOT of the game rolling on the floor! Barca
was unlucky to have hit the bar twice, get a shot cleared on the goal line and
a few other shots that were saved by great acrobatics from Cech. I also assume things
cannot stay the same in Nou Camp. But at the same time I think there are things
that need to be addressed or at least considered as note-worthy.
Attack routes: Barcelona’s
pointless crosses and corners into the
opponents’ box and how they proved impotent only reinforces the fact that they
DO need a tall, physical forward like Van Persie to give them some sort of an option in such situations.
Yes, they experimented with the vindictive and egotistic Ibrahimovic. But that doesn’t
mean every other striker will be the same. But it was painful to see they try crosses and
corners into the box for short forwards like Alexis, Messi and Cesc who were always crowded by the tall, physical
defenders.
Barca has to think
about adding other dimensions to their game and attack. Merely satisfied with “walking
the ball into the goal” is going to get the team through each and every game
and situation is just futile.This becomes more apparent when Barca faces teams that park
the bus in front of their goal and fill their 18 yard box with 9 or even 10
players for long periods of the game.
Shooting: The shooting by almost everyone was atrocious. Most
of the time the players don’t even look for a shot. But the scant few instances
they did attempt, they rushed it or were amateurishly off target.
Overpassing and lack of urgency: While the passing and tiki-taka is very
pleasing and all, when the team falls behind and needs to show urgency, there
is no change of pace or tactics. It still stays the same patient tiki-taka
which allows the opponent to regroup and gather in their box and block our
through passes from the middle. Don’t get me started on the wasted crosses from
flanks.
And I’m afraid by now the whole world knows how Barca plays
and what could impede their game. From leaving the grass uncut (in some pitches
you could even see flowers at the tip of the grass!!) to parking the bus in the
box to getting violently physical and rash style. Therefore mixing it up with a
few new tricks and routes to attack will prove extremely successful for the
club and will make defending against them that much more difficult and
unpredictable.
Bottomline: No need to fret yet, though. We have the return
game in Spain and with the crowd behind the team, given Barca’s great form at
home leaves a lot to look forward to.
No comments:
Post a Comment