Barcelona 2018/19 season went from glory to failure within a couple of games. At one point towards the end of the campaign, only three games stood between them and a third treble in the club’s rich history. All they had to do was hold onto a 3-0 lead against Liverpool at Anfield and beat Valencia in the Copa del Rey final.

In the end, they did neither of those things as both teams humiliated the Catalans, putting a large stain on the team and the coach himself. But Ernesto Valverde prevailed despite the masses calling for his sacking and the underwhelming results in Europe.

With that in mind, this tactical analysis will aim to give you the tactics Barcelona might use in the 2019/20 season and what changes are expected to happen if Valverde wants to finally turn his fortune around and with it, the fans as well.

2018/19 overview in numbers

It’s difficult to say what exactly went wrong in Barcelona’s latest campaign but saying everything did come pretty close to the right answer. Things proceeded smoothly, as they usually do, up until the breaking point in the latter stages of all competitions. La Liga was secured with fixtures to spare and Valverde finally had no excuse when it came to the Champions League.

But the Roma debacle got its sequel at Anfield as the Reds tore through a scared Blaugrana in a match that very much felt like a Sunday league clash. Or rather, it was professional adults toying with children. So mentality will very much play a huge role if this European curse is to be lifted from the Catalans but defensive fragility is also pretty much up there on top of the list.

If you want to read the full tactical preview of Barcelona’s 2019/20 season, head over to totalfootballanalysis.com or click HERE


Total Football Analysis Magazine #11: July 2019 - tactical analysis tactics
Artwork by @chapulana

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