What is Valverde looking for with the 4-2-3-1?

Barça are looking more and more like an Ernesto Valverde team. After a pre-season when it was hardly evident that there had been a change of manager, Valverde is now showing his most interventional side.

The defeat against Real Madrid at the Camp Nou was a turning point as Valverde found a perfect reason to change the side. His diagnosis was very clear, Barça were slow and disorganised when getting behind the ball. “One of the keys is not having the team very split. There has to be a balance,” the manager has said on more than one occasion.

In the second leg of the Super Cup, Valverde tried 3-5-2 and 4-4-2. Against Betis, Valverde turned the system he has most faith in: 4-2-3-1.

MESSI AND SERGI ROBERTO: ANOTHER TURN OF THE SCREW

“We have to find a formula in attack and to be organised to be more solid and look for other things to gain”. Valverde is working under two premises: the team finds it hard from a defensive point of view to play 4-3-3 and have lost balance since Neymar left. Valverde is restore the team’s solidarity and incentivise high pressure.

Messi’s position (false 9) points in this direction. “If we have to drop back, this enables us to do so in an organised manner and this lets us do that”. In attack, the objective was to use Deulofeu and Alcácer’s pace as Messi dropped deeper.

Sergi Roberto also helped with this balance. The Catalan played behind Messi as Valverde looked for a player who can start the pressure, who is energetic, and who is physically strong. This again highlights the important of pressure.

Valverde has insisted that whatever formation is used, the principles are the same: high pressure, winning the ball back quickly and occupying spaces in midfield. The use of a double pivot for the latter purpose, benefits several players. These include Rakitic, who now has more opportunities to get the ball at his feet and to make passes between the lines.

In addition, Barça currently have a number of players who are comfortable playing behind a striker, such as André Gomes and Arda, who did not really fit into a 4-3-3 formation. Sergi Roberto also looked comfortable in this role against Betis. There is a feeling that this new shape may be more suited to Barça’s current squad.   

THE ROLE OF SEMEDO AND DEULOFEU

Another new feature against Betis was the position of Deulofeu. He played on the right in this game and linked up well with Semedo.

Deulofeu is an interesting player – different to the one who first played at Barcelona a few years ago. His decision making has improved and he does more work defensively. Now he just needs the confidence to take defenders on one-on-one more.

Semedo is also adapting to new surroundings but against Betis his physical qualities were clear. His speed enabled him to correct defensive mistakes and will also be a huge weapon going forward.