Seven matches into the 2022/23 season, Barcelona faced their first defeat of the campaign as they lost 2-0 away to Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League.
The scoreline, however, does not tell the entire story, as Barça were the better team for much of the game and would have come out on top if not for their profligacy in front of goal.
Prior to the Bayern game, the Blaugrana had not lost a single game this season and had picked up five wins in a row across all competitions. And even in defeat on Tuesday, they made a huge impression, showing the progress being achieved under Xavi Hernandez.
After close to a year at the helm and two transfer windows behind him, the 42-year-old Barcelona legend is starting to shape the team in his own image and has, more or less, figured out his best starting XI, reports Mundo Deportivo.
Of the seven official matches across all competitions this season, Xavi has given an indication of his preferred starting options in attack and midfield. However, doubts remain over his best possible defensive line, as the manager has rotated his backline quite frequently.
Indeed, Xavi has started with an attacking line of Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Ousmane Dembele in four of the seven games this term, while the midfield trident of Pedri, Sergio Busquets and Gavi has also been part of the starting XI for four games.
But, that has not been the case so far with Barcelona’s defence as Xavi has fielded the same backline in just two of the seven matches so far this season. This came when he started Jules Kounde, Ronald Araujo, Eric Garcia and Alejandro Balde in back-to-back matches against Real Valladolid and Sevilla.
While it is true that defensive selection has been affected by certain situations such as Kounde’s unavailability due to registration issues in the first two matches and Eric’s recent injury threat, there is still some doubt over the manager’s preferred defensive lineup.
Andreas Christensen has done well in the few opportunities that have come his way. Meanwhile, Marcos Alonso silenced his critics with a solid display on his full debut against Bayern Munich.
So, Xavi has some decisions to make with regard to his defensive personnel and a clearer picture of his preferred backline should start emerging as the season starts to gather pace.
