Elche Vs Barcelona : Match Preview and Analysis

Elche Vs Barcelona

It was another three important points in the bag for Xavi Hernandez’s boys as they narrowly edged out a defiant Elche.

The home side were determined and daring from the very first minute. Sitting back, soaking the pressure and hitting Barcelona on the counter.

It was an overall great game and once again proves the tremendous improvement and growth of this team who kept pushing hard until they got the victory.

The first half was quite not what was expected, the buildup play was slow, the intensity dropped but it is expected that after a series of consecutive top notch performances, they’ll slow down a bit.

Xavi once again rotated his starting lineup, playing Dembele ahead of Adama, Gavi instead of Ferran, Alves/Alba in place of Dest.

Gavi as a winger doesn’t always work as he plays more as a midfielder up front.

Dembele had a decent game but wasn’t as effective as he usually is when brought on as a substitute.

The defence did a great job all game until Pedri made a horrible back pass that lead to the Elche goal.

One would think, Ter should be able to save that goal but once again the Barcelona goalkeeper showed why he needed a good competition. Ter has become too comfortable

Aubameyang had a quiet game and didn’t make much of an impact as the home side made sure to cut of that final pass to the Gabon hitman.

Frenkie De Jong had two clear cut chances and missed both and overall had a decent game too. Barcelona had a great game collectively and one shouldn’t ignore the fight and determination of the home team to keep the Blaugranas on their toes all ninety minutes.

The game changed completely with the introduction of Ferran up front. He made good runs and opened up the Elche defence in ways Gavi couldn’t.

He also lost a lot of chances too but one can’t deny how good his positional play is. Recall that Aubameyang hardly got any chance until he was substituted

Ferran still lacks confidence in front of goal, he makes the right goal decisions, good control and great execution but his shot on goal and precision is mediocre

Ferran needs to work on those aspect of his game, and if he does, he’ll easily notch 20+ goals a season with his positioning.

It was a great game overall even though it wasn’t the typical Barcelona kind but with this victory, Barcelona moves to third on the log as a dream la liga win continues

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