Barcelona boss Quique Setien’s plan for the Champions League

Defensive Improvements

There is no doubt that the current defensive lineup has been as inconsistent as the rest of the team. Setien must not only find the back four that play the club’s desired tactics but also those that do it consistently. While Gerard Pique at 33 years of age remains the most reliable player, Clement Lenglet has also been the team’s guardian on many occasions.

The full-backs, however, are the ones that need the biggest drive to succeed as both Nelson Semedo and Jordi Alba have the capability to shift the dynamic of a match completely. The two most successful matches for Barca in recent history was the pair’s dominating performance against Villarreal (1-4) and Alaves (0-5), where both matches were played away.

The Catalans are known to be weaker away but the matches they dominated were also played there, the reason for their success could be pointed at many different things but what was consistent among both the matches was the work of the full-backs.

Both Alba and Semedo were seen playing almost as a winger in these matches that helped the attacking lineup play closer to each other. This resulted in a complete Barca packed attacking lineup that allowed the squad to quickly pass to each other in close range while not losing the ball for the most part. It was a beautiful display of possession-based football and it is this exact tactic that needs to be used to find success.