Rubik's Cube: Setien's experiments at Barcelona seven games in

As if trying to deal with a Rubik's Cube, Quique Setien and his staff are trying thousands of combinations to try and find the best way to use this Barcelona squad and return to the essence of the club. 

"In terms of formation, it's possible we will look at some changes, 4-3-3 or 4-4-2, but we have to speak with the players and evaluate many things. The system can change, I won't say it won't." These were the comments made by Setien on his presentation. It's something he has repeated since. 

He said more recently: "We will keep on trying things, there are still some things lacking to see the Barça that we have in mind. I don't know if it will be perfect, but it will be closer (to being perfect)."  

THREE DIFFERENT FORMATIONS 

The immediate changes in his first game against Granada were obvious and curious. There were a lot of differences to what we had seen under Ernesto Valverde. A 3-5-2 with Sergi Roberto 'sacrificing' himself as the right-sided centre-back along with Gerard Pique and Samuel Umtiti. Ansu Fati was on the right, Jordi Alba on the left. Sergio Busquets was the pivot, with Arturo Vidal and Ivan Rakitic ahead of him and Griezmann and Leo Messi were the two attackers. 

Setien kept the same system against Ibiza, only making personnel changes. Lenglet and Junior came into the back three, with De Jong also returning from a ban, among other changes. It didn't work well, to be truthful. But he kept with it against Valencia. And it went even. worse. The team looked vulnerable and suffered a lot of counter-attacks, losing the game 2-0. It was time for a change.     

RETURN TO THE PAST 

To 'revitalise' the team and not set off too many alarm bells too soon, Setien returned to the classic 4-3-3. Two pure full-backs in Semedo and Alba, with Lenglet in for Umtiti. Busquets was joined by De Jong and Vidal in the middle and Ansu had a different role on the left of the attack. That team beat Leganes 5-0 in the Copa del Rey and was repeated against Levante in La Liga (save Rakitic for Vidal), resulting in another win. Ansu scored both goals. 

The team did relax late on, eventually conceding in stoppage time, but the first half had been good.   

Setien stuck with that at San Mames more or less. It was a one-off game and Barça were kicked out of the Copa del Rey 1-0 but Setien was happy with what he saw. Barça had the best chances before going down, perhaps unfairly, to a stoppage-time goal from Inaki Williams. 

"The result is always the most important thing," Setien said post-game. "But the sensations also count. The team was at a really good level and I think we were the superior team. It's not easy to control the game against Athletic." 

DIAMOND IN SEVILLA

Finally, at the Benito Villamarin against Real Betis, Setien changed to a 4-4-2 with a diamond in midfield. For spells, Barcelona dominated against a good Real Betis side. They were made to pay for mistakes, though, and trailed 2-1. just before half time. The