The international break is now over, but it has certainly provided us with some interesting areas to look in to.
Neymar is in imperious form
What a summer Neymar has had so far, and he continues to build on that momentum in each match which is great news for Barcelona. Fresh from captaining a young Brazilian team to Olympic gold, Neymar has eased Brazil through two tough World Cup qualifiers. The Brazilian playmaker has oozed confidence in a team that desperately needed it as well as providing exceptional leadership skills. On top of this, he has provided goals with 2 in the World Cup qualifiers, as well as 2 assists. Hopefully, he can carry on this form into Barcelona’s games, and reform the deadly M-S-N partnership.
Spain’s evolution rather than revolution More from Everything Barca9/12 - 3 Things We Learned in the International Break9/12 - Examining Barcelona’s Defense in Stunning Loss to Alavés9/11 - Preview: FC Barcelona vs. Deportivo Alavés9/9 - Current MSN Problems No Longer an Enormous Concern9/9 - Messi Fit to Play Against Alavés
There was a lot of questions over how Julen Lopetegui would set up the Spanish team now that he has replaced Vicente del Bosque as manager, and whether he would continue their specific possession based style of play. His first 2 matches indicate that he has favoured an evolution of the style rather than a revolutionary change. Lopetegui has called up the majority of the Euro 2016 squad with Iker Casillas being the only major casualty. Although Andrés Iniesta wasn’t called up either, but that was due to injury. However, the second half of the match against Liechtenstein saw the debut of a 3-3-3-1 formation. This worked wonders for Spain with them scoring 7 goals, but it has to be remembered that Liechtenstein are poor opponents.
This is important for Barcelona because Spain look to be continuing the possession based building from the back with high pressure pressing off the ball which helped them to 2 Euro wins and a World Cup, so the Barcelona players won’t have to learn a new system, and can continue to improve their specific style of play when on international duty.
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Lionel Messi’s injury
Worrying news emerged during the international break that Messi had picked up an injury while playing for Argentina. Thankfully, it was only a minor groin complaint, but it could mean that Messi doesn’t play against Deportivo Alavés. Luis Enrique confirmed in his press conference that Messi was fit to play against Alavés if needed. However, some media outlets are reporting that Barcelona are unwilling to risk him against the La Liga minnows. Barcelona did hint on Twitter at a possible reunion today though.
???? Friends reunited ????@neymarjr #Messi @LuisSuarez9 pic.twitter.com/ugSWJ2DTwf
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) September 9, 2016
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