I think if Iniesta-Busi-Xavi starts this game, this game goes a little different. This game needed control and as good as Rakitic has been so far, its games like these where he will get exposed a bit. We need him when we are playing more physical midfielders where we need someone with beef to hold up the ball and break up plays, Atletico for example. PSG fielded a more technical midfield than we did, with Veratti and Motta maintaining the tempo and Matuidi playing free but coming back to help when they were off the ball. Rakitic is good in possession but he isn't the kind of midfielder that can control a game. Its incredibly hard to do what Xavi does and that's why he is so invaluable to this squad, still.
The key to us right now is that people know how we play, its so funny that Flavia earlier posted that average position chart because it is almost identical to my Barca formation on FIFA (except the AMs are narrower, as someone rightfully called out). So man management and knowing when to play who for certain teams is going to be the key to any coach for Barca and in someways is more important than tactics since the blueprint is so ingrained already. When everybody is on the same page, its incredibly hard to neutralize Barca's game but one or two players out of sync and the system falls apart. Pedro looks a shadow of the player he was with Pep, I've supported him before and he had a great opportunity to claim a stake in the starting 11 with Suarez out and he has been nothing short of abysmal this season, with him being ineffective upfront our entire attack is cut in half which is why we only had joy on left with Neymar and Iniesta's link-up and Messi overloading.
In the past, one of the few criticisms that has been thrown at Iniesta is his inability to play well with and AM partner besides Xavi and considering his recent form and Rakitic starting more over Xavi, I think its worth mentioning again. Which sums up this post, it all comes down to man management. Lucho can learn a lot from this loss. The thing that makes me optimistic is that there is a lot more variety in this squad than in the past and once Lucho learns what players are best suited for certain game situations, we will start showing more consistency. Key things he needs to consider:
-Strongest CB pairing (imo right now, Pique-Mathieu)
-Defining Xavi's role in this squad going forward (you might call me crazy, but if well managed, Xavi could play and still be an asset to this club for another 4 years)
-Integrating Suarez, which he seems to have a good shape to suit Suarez
I think we will be ready for Madrid in time though.
