Since the arrival of Ernesto Valverde, Barca haven’t had to take risks. In controlling possession and cutting out mistakes, they build a solid foundation while on the ball to allow Messi freedom. The purchase of Ousmane Dembele in the summer and Philippe Coutinho in January have begged the question of how all of these very talented pieces are going to fall into place, but it has transpired that Dembele is not the Neymar replacement as perhaps first expected. The young Frenchman looks set to build up a relationship with Messi down the right-hand side for Barca, with the two set to work together in simple yet effective fashion to pull defences around as they did against Chelsea in their Champions League second leg at Camp Nou.
Freedom to drop deepAway from his association with Dembele, Messi continues to get the same freedom as he always has under Valverde and his predecessors. When Barcelona are building from the back, with their full backs yet to get into truly threatening areas, the Argentine can drop in to link up in midfield and to help bring his teammates further upfield. Dembele can hold his width, while Luis Suarez leads the line, leaving Messi to associate with both Rakitic and Busquets. If he receives possession under pressure, he can move the ball on quickly and then reposition further forward, but should he have the chance to turn and drive, having Dembele and Alba out wide becomes interesting in terms of having an option to stretch play or feed in behind.Messi pulling wide, Dembele interchange
Messi usually takes up a position as the right-sided forward, but also has the freedom to pull out to the right wing and allow Dembele to replace him up front. When that occurs, the Frenchman steps up to occupy the space alongside Suarez, ensuring that Barca maintain a front two and that the opposition defence remains stretched in the same manner. If possible, a one-versus-one situation for Messi in a wider area would be a very good scenario to carve out.
This allows for Messi a 1v1 run at the wing back, as he can receive possession in space out on the right and have a chance to drive forward and get up to top speed. His positioning out wide stretches the opposition defence and asks the question of whether a defender should follow him into a deeper area, which in turn opens up some space for Dembele to potentially use his pace in behind.
If he chooses to stay put and maintain his position alongside Suarez, Messi would be receiving possession into feet, allowing for opposition defence to collapse in around him. By spending some time centrally, and pulling deep and wide to the right at times too, it doesn’t allow for defences to settle down and get used to Barcelona’s patterns of play. They instead must react to whether it is Messi or Dembele sitting wide and come to terms with the possible consequences of both situations, allowing for a chance of a lack of cohesion for their defensive organisation as decisions must be made in terms of how to mark and where they must commit defensive bodies.
Against Chelsea, Messi had plenty of joy against Marcos Alonso, with he and Dembele swapping regularly. When Messi was infield, Dembele held the width of the attack on the right, and both players were happy to under and overlap one another. Messi will continue to hold the key, with Barca having a very fluid and interesting attack, where teams visiting Camp Nou will have to get used to facing different players with different attributes in similar areas of the field.Dembele and Messi are just getting started in terms of building a working relationship on the field, but the future looks bright.
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