Barcelona have reverted to the tiki-taka style of play
The Barcelona that was created by Jordi Cruyff has endured through the ages, except for certain times in the club’s recent history like Frank Rijkaard’s tenure, Luis Enrique’s last season in charge and Ernesto Valverde’s debut season.
But after a season of implementing a direct style of play, Valverde has gone back to the club tradition of tiki-taka, where the ball is retained for long periods of time and the attackers press high in order to regain possession.
Against Huesca, the side showed the world that tiki-taka is timeless and eternal, and can even survive in modern football, where it is considered obsolete since Spain’s dismal group-stage exit in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
The defence was shaky, and some poor defending from the centre-backs led to two easy goals scored by Huesca. 19-year old Colombian forward Cucho Hernández tapped in at the near post, while a ball across was poorly defended and it was rolled into the net by Álex Gallar.
In Luis Enrique’s first season, apart from the MSN, he created a separate trio of Jordi Alba, Andrés Iniesta and Neymar on the left. The three superstars linked together, with Iniesta’s vision, Neymar’s dribbling and Alba’s pace.
Unfortunately, Jordi Alba is the only survivor from that trio. But he might have found two new partners in Barça’s record signings Ousmane Dembélé and Philippe Coutinho, who are linking up brilliantly to create opportunities for Alba to cross the ball in or square it across.
Coutinho’s silky dribbling opens up room for him to shoot and attempt to find the top right corner, while Dembélé’s runs into the box and his link-up play with Jordi Alba is brilliant. But it was Coutinho’s partnership with Alba which led to the third goal against Huesca.
The Brazilian playmaker put a sprinting Alba in behind the defence with a beautiful through-ball, and the 29-year old left-back cut it back for Luis Suárez, who had an easy tap-in. Dembélé lost the ball quite a few times, but his left-footed curler was a beauty, despite only hitting the bar.
On the right, Lionel Messi was as brilliant as usual. He opened the scoring for Barça with a right-footed finish in off the post after beating three defenders with a single turn. He also set up the second goal, finding Alba who squared it across only for Jorge Pulido to deflect in into his own net.
The team started the second half with a goal, which was scored by Ousmane Dembélé. The 21-year old Frenchman received a lovely, incisive ball forward from Luis Suárez, and finished it off with his left foot, in off the post.
The lead was extended when Leo Messi lifted the ball through the defence into the path of Ivan Rakitić, with the Croatian midfielder showed great technique to hit a perfect half-volley across the goalkeeper into the bottom left corner.
Barcelona missed three golden opportunities. Lionel Messi hit the bar after trying to power the ball past Axel Werner after receiving a lofted ball from Philippe Coutinho. Luis Suárez also missed an easy opportunity to pull it back, while Sergi Roberto fluffed a chance to score into an open goal.
But except for Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez was the best player on the pitch. Despite missing a chance, the Uruguayan showed that he has still got it, completing several take-ons and create an opportunity for Philippe Coutinho with a brilliant flick-on.
Leo Messi scored the club’s sixth goal, rolling the ball past Werner into the bottom right corner after a darting run following Philippe Coutinho’s defence-splitting pass. Jordi Alba scored the penultimate goal, nutmegging the goalkeeper, with Messi picking up the assist.
Luis Suárez was fouled by a diving Axel Werner in the box, with ‘El Pistolero’ converting the penalty himself, becoming the second player to score a brace for Barça, joining his good friend, who passed on a chance to score a hat-trick.
The side was a treat for the eyes in attack. Sergio Busquets assumed the important role of a pivot while Ivan Rakitić showed exactly why he is one of the most important players in the squad. But the real magic occurred on the left flank.
There were other magical moments too. Suárez’s little touches, and Arturo Vidal’s overhead kick which became a cross. Leo Messi’s dribbling was absolutely mesmerising, and Jordi Alba dazzled Jorge Pulido on the left flank.
The flowing movement of the ball, the little turns and touches from the technically-gifted midfielders, and the runs made by the full-backs all signified tiki-taka, but it was Ernesto Valverde’s version, where the ball is moved about with more urgency.