Quique Setien provided the perfect audition for Barcelona with 4-3 win

Real Betis’ 4-3 win over Barcelona could prove to be pivotal when Barcelona start their search for the next coach after Ernesto Valverde.

Prior to Real Betis’ visit at the weekend, Barcelona were unbeaten at home in the league for over two years. Alaves were the last side to beat Barcelona at Camp Nou as they shocked Luis Enrique’s side with a 2-1 victory. The loss to Los Verdiblancos was the first in the league at home under Ernesto Valverde, which shows how they have turned Camp Nou into a fortress during his tenure.

In that sense, it was a hugely impressive victory for the Andalusian side, but the manner it was achieved in adds to that because they beat Barcelona at their own game. They had Barcelona chasing shadows at times with their ability to retain possession and keep the opposition moving. Barcelona still created plenty of chances, however, the Catalans had the better quality players, especially Lionel Messi, therefore, Setien’s boldness should be applauded.

Betis cut through Barcelona incisively and ruthlessly targeted certain areas such as the right-back position with a clear gameplan. Their third and fourth goals came a few minutes after goals scored by Barcelona, which reflected how they weren’t willing to sit back and absorb pressure and consistently took the game to the Catalans. Maintaining possession was the key aspect of their gameplan as they knew it denied Barcelona the chance to build periods of pressure.

This was the ultimate test of Setien’s philosophy as Barca demolished his side 5-0 at the Benito Villamarin last season with a performance which counter-pressed his side into oblivion. He upgraded his team in the summer with signings such as Giovani Lo Celso and Sergio Canales, although it has taken them a while to get going with 12 goals in 12 games and 16 points including the victory over Barcelona. This could prove to be the spark for a run of form as they should definitely have confidence in their methods after this display.

His Juego de Posicion, possession-based philosophy has always suggested that he would be a good fit for Barcelona, but he needed to take an intermediate step after taking Las Palmas to the top division and keeping them there without compromising on his beliefs. He has been able to replicate that success and take it to the next level at Betis with a sixth-place finish last season to qualify them for the Europa League, so moving to a top club is the next logical step for his career.

There have been conflicting reports over Valverde’s future because he has a year option in his contract which would see him stay until 2020, but it’s unclear whether that has been activated. His unwillingness to talk about his future suggests that he doesn’t intend to stay in the long-term, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Barcelona start the search for a new manager in the summer. Setien deserves to be one of the main candidates and this performance will have impressed cules and the board alike.

It was a result that broke a number of records such as Betis being the first side to score four goals at Camp Nou in a competitive game since 2003 as well as the even more impressive one in the tweet above.

Setien would probably relish the chance to utilise unique players such as Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets within his ideas. If he continues to impress with Betis then this chance could come sooner rather than later, especially if Valverde is unable to deliver success in the Champions League.