Venue: Benito Villamarín, 17.03.2019. 20:45

Attendance: 53,443

Referee: Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea

Real Betis

Coach: Quique Setien

Playing System: 3-1-4-2

FC Barcelona

Coach: Ernesto Valverde

Playing System: 4-4-2

General

Before going into any details, we have to be aware that the teams of Quique Setien always try to play the same way, in the same style: attractive, attacking football which is for the fans of the team. The game itself is more important than the win – claims Setien.
For this reason he fielded a starting XI that is able to have possession of the ball, play short-passing combinations and outplay the opponent with some tactical variations.
Playing style was the key for this game as both teams think about football a similar way. It was expected that versatility and unexpectedness would be the keys and of course having World-Class players playing on their peaks.

Home Team Defence

Before going into details we must be aware of the information that Betis won the first game this year at the Camp Nou against Barcelona (3-4 score) so they had the confidence to play bravely being the only team that could beat Barcelona before at the Camp Nou this year.
Betis was tactically really organised, they tried to run as much as possible in order to create long ball scenarios for Barcelona that is really uncomfortable for them.

As it can be seen, Betis only had the long cross option only for FC Barcelona but after these long-flying balls it would be clear that they had the time to re-organise themselves and keep the pressing high up on the pitch. After these long balls forced, the target player (on the far side) was on his own and needed/would have needed more time to be helped out by his teammates. This is a great scenario for Betis that happened most of the times.

Away Team Defence

FC Barcelona tried to defend the same way as always, but they knew that against Betis it will be something else. They played in a 4-4-2 formation, especially in defense where Arturo Vidal and Ivan Rakitic played on the two flanks and having Arthur and Busquets in the middle. They were aware that they need to be more patient and play more without the ball than usually.
This was the situation that we could see most of the times: Barcelona is compact, Arthur is manmarking a key playmaker in the middle and Lenglet stepping back with one Betis player. It can be clearly seen that there is a huge space left behind the FC Barcelona’s defence and there is a numerical issue with Alba and Vidal marking the same space and man.

 The pressing position (trigger) was a forward-pass and a back-pass after which FC Barcelona players tried to run forward as quickly as possible.

Home Team Attack

Under Quique Setien everbody knows what to expect from Betis: they are playing a very attractive football with an attacking and goalscoring mentality. They are always trying to keep possession of the ball in order to deliver a well-built-up attack and score at the end. By getting the ball, their first thought is to play it to a safe place and start making the opponent chase after the ball which can be very frustrating, mostly when they do it against a team like FC Barcelona who also like ball possession and well-composed attacking.
Betis played in a 3-1-4-2 formation having three central defenders at the back playing in different zones during the build-up play: Mandi in the right half-space, Bartra in the central area and Sidnei in the left half-space. This meant that Bartra is the playmaker during the build-ups and he had the most important position after getting the ball as he needed to be the first free man to play the ball to in safe.
Out wide, Betis tried to have two versatile players like Cristian Tello and Joaquín who were able to play intelligently and fast as well to break Barcelona’s defence on the flanks. Their help was important to widen the defence of Barcelona and create overloaded situations in the middle.

The diamond created by the three defenders and William Carvalho (the central defensive midfielder) was key again to occupy Messi and Suarez and also outnumber them in order to have the opportunity for ball possession. Carvalho was often manmarked by Arthur so there was enough space for another player to step back for the ball and build the attack.

As soon as Betis had the opportunity and stepped on Barcelona’s half, Lo Celso and Jesé tried to push Barcelona’s defenders back and by this, giving Guardado space to fill in. Guardado had such a dynamic position in the middle as he was playing towards the outside to let Lo Celso step back and when there had been an option, he stayed in the middle between the lines.
After the patient build-up, Betis could exploit the empty spaces between the lines of the Away Team. This is how Betis tried to attack with the ball possession.

Away Team Attack

Although FC Barcelona loves to keep possession of the ball, against a high-pressing, very agile team like Betis it is really hard and risky to do so. Barcelona tried to exploit the space behind the high lines of Betis just to make them drop a little bit deeper after losing the ball.
The other idea of Valverde’s is to have the two flank midfielders, Arturo Vidal and Ivan Rakitic play a little bit towards the inside to drag the two Betis wing players (Joaquín and Tello) inside and open up space for Jordí Alba and Sergi Roberto next to the sidelines. This would mean having a numerical advantage for FC Barcelona in the middle and this helped their ball possession.
Of course, Betis tried to play with fast and experienced players mixed up, this led to Barcelona passing the ball towards the back most of the times. But as usual, when having the ball, Barcelona players split up and created space in the centre of the field for building up the attacks and compose those well.

On the picture we can see a long ball attempt from the goalkeeper in the front of Jordí Alba running with Joaquín. Vidal would have the opportunity to exploit Alba’s space for the build-up play. Ter Stegen here chooses the long option just to push Betis back after a successful long ball.
From this perspective the game was really changing, Barcelona have been unexpected when having the ball: once, they played long balls into space and during other times they just risked and played a bit calmly. With this unexpectedness, Messi and Arthur had key roles in taking care for the ball and let Betis outrun them without it.

Summary

We’ve been praising Betis for their attitude and mental but there is one factor apart from the tactical one, which is class. Lionel Messi scored the first goal of the game after a wonderful free-kick and there has been Suarez at the end of the first half with a magnificent assist for Lionel Messi. Messi scored only two in the first half and he really made an impact. He needs almost no time and space to create dangerous situations himself or for the teammates. It is something that is almost impossible to defend against. And of course, these abilities of his are perfect to change games like this.
But apart from mentioning Messi and Suarez, Arthur, Arturo Vidal and Rakitic also played an outstanding game with many great decisions and coming out from pressure by the home team. These World-Class players playing at their best caused the away team’s great result in a stadium which is really difficult to win at.
From another perspective, tactically it was a very interesting game and seeing players going “above” tactics is always the magic of the game of football.