by Ediale Kingsley
Sevilla is in the form of their life. And they have some how shown today that there’s a kind of football style that Barca can not stand. It’s called “Clumsy Scatter”.
Naturally when a team beats Barca, the next opponent in line gets over-punished for it. Last season when Atletico Madrid did beat Barca, the next two games that followed saw Barca scoring 14 goals in 2 matches. But Sevilla, wasn’t going to be punished for another man’s sin. They stood their ground and played clumsy.
How Do You Play Clumsy Scatter?
Let at least 4 players chase and follow the ball. Don’t play the usual positioning. Scatter the players around the ball. So anytime a ball goes to a barca player Sevilla players followed in dozens. Barca hates this kind of play because they love spaces to pass. When you do this, it chokes them. Yet they don’t like playing long passes. Otherwise that would have been a good antidote to the Clumsy Scatter.
So How Did Barca Survived The Clumsy Scatter Of Sevilla?
Individual brilliance. Messi who had a record of meeting the Sevilla 28 times. Had scored them 26 times. So upon that great curriculum vitae, we waited for Messi to decide. First we thought Neymahs gifted legs would. But Neymah like every Barca player was overwhelmed by the clumsiness. Most times, we saw him dribbling halfway and loosing the ball in confusion. Other times he just stood with the ball not knowing what to do, until a Sevilla player comes to take it from him. Clumsy.
So Messi stroke. One good, right, magical, skilful and direct touch of the ball from Messi scale pass several Sevilla defenders into the net. Goal. The second goal came from a brilliant assist from Messi. He used their clumsiness against them. When the ball came to him, 6 Sevilla defenders clumsily approached him so he took all of them to the left before releasing the ball by a brilliant pass to the right, where Suarez was standing alone. A typical Suarez strike and the it’s a goal.
So it’s one goal from Messi, one assist. Making it 27 goals from 28 games against Sevilla. There is a god in Spain. He wears a jersey in the city of Barcelona.
Again, first it was Mourinho doing everything right by my advice piece. Now, it’s Enrique who somehow has made good of my former advice. He didn’t make a sub mistake today. Rather than bring the slow paced Turan for the fast Rakitic. He did the right thing. Sent in a faster Andre Gomes for Rakitic and balanced it with another superb sub, Rafinha for Denis Suarez.
What Could Sevilla Have Done Better?
Rami or Nzonzi would have made frustrating Messi an agenda. Messi doesn’t like Big Strong defenders. Keep gegenpressing Messi, he won’t be able to do much. I am happy they didn’t do this though.This Messi goal in this match is the 500th Messi goal for FC Barcelona.