Tuesday night, a dramatic European rivalry returns to Stamford Bridge as Chelsea will host Hansi Flick’s Barcelona. And while the profile of the squads do not reflect the famous, or infamous, Champions League ties of the 2000s and 2010s, the anticipation of another classic under the lights remains.
This season, Barcelona have scored goals and a lot of them, but what they display going forward is consistently countered by the amount of goals they have conceded. For Chelsea supporters, this sentiment sounds all too familiar.
If this tie promises anything, it is that fans of both sides will see the ball in the back of the net often before the final whistle is blown. Hopefully, the hosts will do it more often than the visitors.
Luckily for Chelsea, Barcelona’s aggressive style of play is set up perfectly to highlight the strengths of Enzo Maresca’s side.
How Chelsea can use Barcelona's tactical strengths against them
Barcelona's identity
Flick found immediate success after taking over Barcelona, winning the league in his first season and coming mere minutes from qualifying for the Champions League final. His team is star studded, highlighted by possibly the best player in the world in Lamine Yamal and a midfield whose quality is rivaled by few clubs in the world.
Fundamentally, chance creation is the core of Barca’s identity, ranking third in all of Europe's top leagues with an impressive 27.91 expected goals. To accomplish this output not only is his forward line aggressive, but also defensively, as they look to quickly win the ball and press the opponent backwards. Ultimately, the focus is on giving his star players the ball in advantageous areas as often as possible, even at the expense of controlling the match.
Defensively, Barca form a high line that relies on the usage of offside traps while all three of their forwards press at every given chance. This chaotic strategy provides goal-scoring opportunities by winning the ball high up the pitch while also keeping a high rate of possession. However, when teams are able to break the press and avoid the high line, they often find quality chances on the other end.
Going forward, Barca focus on a direct vertical approach where progressive passes are often sent early. As opposed to many top Premier League clubs who methodically build slowly through compact formations, Barca want to get possession to their dynamic playmakers.
This attacking philosophy creates space and chances for Lamine Yamal, Marcus Rashford, and Raphina (when fit) to run at their defender and ultimately score or find an assist to Robert Lewandowski. While risky, there is a reason no team has scored more goals than Barcelona since Flick took over. Then again, it leaves an opportunity for the opposition as well.
How Chelsea can benefit from Barcelona's tactics
For Chelsea, the good news is that despite Barcelona's quality, tactically they set up very advantageously against Flick’s system. Enzo Maresca has made it adamantly clear that in order to play in his side, every player, including the goalkeeper, must be comfortable against the press.
In the Club World Cup final against PSG, who admittedly play a different brand of pressing football, Chelsea displayed their tactical edge and scored on three blistering counterattacks on the way to a 3-0 win. Of course, they won't have Cole Palmer available for this one, which is a shame. Maresca is very tactically keen on finding space by pushing his fullbacks further up the pitch to stretch the opponent and create space.
On Tuesday, against the aggressive system of Barcelona, Chelsea will look to slip through the press and utilise long balls through the likes of Enzo Fernandez, who does such at an extremely high level, to take advantage of the open space for their wingers. Additionally, Marc Cucurella will be taking up the inverted position to find the openings behind the pressing front line before progressing the ball up the pitch.
Once progressed, to counter an offside trap there are three clear advantages Chelsea will have. That is pacey wingers who can take advantage of space, midfield progressive runs, and quick one-two passing. A key player will have to be Joao Pedro, as his 10 position is perfectly suited to play in Liam Delap before making runs behind the high back line of Barcelona.
Overall, Chelsea’s strengths are better suited to counter a team like Barcelona as opposed to the deep blocks often seen in the Premier League. And while Barcelona are a very talented and formidable opponent, the Blues are in a prime position to display why this new iteration of the club is ready to compete against the European elite.