We will look at what Getafe and Celta did, games in which Barça suffered, and we will add things of our virtues." Mallorca coach Javier Aguirre announced it the day before the match against Barcelona. From words to deeds. Defense of five and two footballers up top to clear balls and take advantage of second plays. With this disciplined formula, especially in terms of the protection system, the Balearic team, which had just been beaten against Girona, managed to draw against the Blaugrana team. As Getafe did on the first day. And how he was about to get a Celta that was winning 0-2 until 81.
Beyond the lack of attention near their goal, since Barça have conceded as many goals in seven games as they did in the previous campaign in 23, what must Xavi's team do to attack better? Former footballer Miquel Soler, who defended the colors of, among others, Barça, Espanyol, Madrid, Atlético or Mallorca, and who is now based in Palma, believes that one of the keys to dismantling a defense of five is to be very dynamic on the wings. "You need very open ends with one-on-one ability. In addition, if they are on a different leg, in my opinion, better, since they can associate more in this way", says the Catalan. From his point of view, a typical play that should be tried to be repeated is that of Barcelona's second goal, the work of Fermín López. "The example of what needs to be done is 2-2. Lamine Yamal attracts the center and partners with Raphinha, who looks for space at the back and crosses for Fermín to score. This movement must be done continuously to open up a defense of five".
Francisco José Carrasco, a great dribbler in his time as a footballer, talks about the ability to overcome defences. "Against a defense of five, always watered down, because dribbling is the knife, which allows you to overflow and mess up the opposition. In this sense, Lamine Yamal deserves to play even more minutes. He is so talented that when he comes out you have to give him more balls. But it is good that the other strikers have been bitten by his irruption. It is the case of Raphinha, for example, who is improving". For Lobo, Lamine's dribbling style is similar to his and Thierry Henry's. "He doesn't have the ball attached to his foot like Maradona or Messi, shorter footballers, but dribbles showing the ball like a hook." Pichi Alonso agrees with Carrasco that "Lamine Yamal must be an important player against defensive systems like Mallorca's. Now he is perhaps the most unbalanced player in the team in one on one, which is what is needed when collectively you cannot overcome the opposite”.
One of Barcelona's problems in Mallorca, according to Miquel Soler, was that on the other side, on the left flank, they didn't have footballers like Lamine and Raphinha. "For that side you have Balde, but Balde, with a defense of five, has it more difficult to leave for speed. He needs to make the wall with someone and look for space", reasons the left winger.
Soler also believes there are other aspects to improve. "Barça insisted too much on attacking through the center. In my opinion, he didn't take advantage of the fact that Mallorca only had three midfielders, so there was room there. Cancelo didn't know how to interpret well that it was possible to go deeper there".
On the core Carrasco underlines the following: "In Mallorca it wasn't a problem for the forwards, but the ball was coming to them very late and the covers were done. Oriol Romeu played the worst game I've seen him in a long time. He played slowly." Speed is what Pichi Alonso is asking for. "The circulation of the ball must be quick to cause mistakes to the opposing defenders with changes of orientation. The more passes are made and the slower there is, the more difficult it is, because you give the opponent time to organize", recalls the former striker. The next game is here. Tomorrow against Sevilla.
