Barcelona has faced a lot of difficulties in the past few months with ending their Champions League campaign abruptly to their best player asking to leave the club. Barca captain and star player Lionel Messi did hand in a transfer request losing faith in the current board. Nevertheless, he ended up staying at Camp Nou under Ronald Koeman’s reign.
Koeman took charge of the team with many things to commit to. There were areas that could be explored to improvise but other managers would not have acted immediately. The Dutch boss started to implement a new model in Barcelona which goes through nurturing youth talent for the future. Hence, the Catalan club is investing so much to bring in youngsters from across Europe.
Youth talent blooming at Barcelona
Till now, Barcelona has signed Francisco Trincao, Pedri, and Sergino Dest to enforce the model. Koeman did a great job in his first competitive match for Barca as they thrashed Villareal 4-0 at home. The Blaugrana maintained a clean sheet which is essential for the players. The defense line is a problematic area for Barcelona that has cost them many matches. Unlike earlier times, the defense looked stable, firm, and avoided any major mistakes. They were no dangerous attempts on goal either.
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Ansu Fati was the star of the match scoring two goals and showing what he holds for the future. Messi lauded him as well as the manager post-match. The 17-year-old has been performing pretty well since the restart. His consistent good display on the pitch led him to pave his path into the first-team squad. He even became the youngest player to score for the national team recently.
Barcelona is no more dependent on Messi
The highlight of the match is that the team did not depend on Lionel Messi to win the game. So far until now, the Argentine pulled the strings at rough situations and help Barcelona grab a win. Messi did score his first goal of the season in La Liga in the match against Villareal but he was not effectively involved. It was more of a team effort as it showed discipline and quick passes to maintain possession.
Koeman used his tactics right and his players carried out his orders accordingly, as per Marca. The new formation switch to 4-2-3-1 is effective. Barcelona has been accustomed to 4-3-3 for a long time but the new manager is bringing the change in the squad on the path of success.
