Three takeaways from a fantastic victory at Camp Nou
Barcelona are back to the winning ways in La Liga, and they did it with style, totally dominating a hopeless Deportivo La Coruña side on the way to a comfortable 4-0 victory at Camp Nou. It was a great performance from the Blaugrana, and there are plenty of good things to point out. Here are three takeaways from what we saw on Saturday:
1 - Paco Alcácer's bad luck is a good thing
It's easy to look at the terrible misses from his first few games, especially on Saturday, and say at Paco's signing was a bad idea. But if you actually watch the games closely and look at everything he does, you'll see that he's been a good addition. Paco is a poacher, yet his movement is fantastic. He's always in great positions, knows where and how to move to open spaces for teammates and always finds himself close to the goal and ready to receive a pass for an easy tap-in. He's been missing those, but that's just bad luck. Once the first ball goes in, this kid will start bagging score after score. He's doing everything else right, and that's the most important thing.
2 - Lucas Digne is a future star, but cannot start (yet)
The young Frenchman was the least celebrated-slash-debated summer signing. He was certainly a better backup to Jordi Alba than Adriano, but that was it. It was tough to be either excited or angry about his signing. It was a good one, but we weren't expecting anything too special. But with every appearance, Digne proves he's the perfect Barça full-back. His passing is great, his movement with and without the ball is impressive, and he's very good at making runs forward and tracking back to close spaces on defense. Alba has got a true competitor for his position, and it's not crazy to imagine Digne taking over Jordi's job in the near future.
That near future is not now, however. Patience is key. Lucas has been at Barça for just three months, has to learn a very complex system and is still not completely familiar with his teammates. Messi's spectacular long balls to pick up Alba's amazing overlapping runs work so well in almost every game because Alba and Messi have a longtime understanding, and Jordi knows when and how to make those runs. It'll take time before Digne and Leo (and the other players) develop that chemistry, so it wouldn't be a smart thing to rush Lucas into the team. Of course there's a risk of Alba playing bad in big games, but that has to be the case, at least for now. Give Digne time, and he'll be a monster. With time.
3 - Luis Enrique has a new formation, and it works
Lucho has now used the 3-4-3 in two games, only because he didn't have Sergi Roberto on the team. But it's not a coincidence that Barça scored nine goals and had the two best performances in La Liga so far with that formation. It provides defensive solidity, many passing outlets when building up from the back, and allows the front three to be almost completely free from defensive duty. There are two holding midfielders who stabilize the center of the pitch, and the two wing-backs provide width and quality on the flanks. It's a smart formation, albeit slightly more defensive because of three CBs and two pivotes. It's produced two great results and performances, though, and it's now a clear option for Lucho. He's got enough versatility in his squad to pull it off, and he can even use it with Sergi Roberto on the team.
The 4-3-3 has been the base scheme forever, and it still clearly works. But it's not a bad thing to have tricks up your sleeve, and after two impressive team performances, the new formation is a new option. A great one, too.
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