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da betsul： This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
Barcelona collected a 2-1 victory over Villarreal on Tuesday evening but they had their defence to thank for picking up all three points.
On the chalkboard
Barcelona’s attack is rarely ever questioned. After all, when you have Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Antoine Griezmann in the team, goals are bound to come sooner rather than later.
But the narrative of the ongoing 2019/20 La Liga season has very much been centred around their defence.
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For all the attacking potential, the Blaugrana are rather lacking at the other end of the pitch and that is already showing in their results. After six games played in the new campaign, Barcelona have already conceded a total of ten goals – eight from open play and two from penalty kicks.
The unsung hero
Modern football rarely allows defenders to collect all the praise.
Sure, the recent emergence of Virgil van Dijk at Liverpool might help shift the tides just a little bit but generally speaking, we’re still pretty far away from that.
This only further amplifies Clement Lenglet’s contribution to Barca against the Yellow Submarine.
The 24-year-old Frenchman successfully won his duel with Villarreal’s Gerard Moreno. Moreno has already scored five goals in six appearances in La Liga so far, making Lenglet’s task that much more important.
Blaugrana’s centre-back registered two tackles, two interceptions, one clearance and three blocked shots on the night, matching Moreno’s one dribble and two key passes. He also made sure that Moreno deployed no crosses and managed no shots on target.
Of course, the two did not battle each other exclusively throughout the game but Lenglet’s presence helped nullify Moreno’s usual contribution.
The biggest proof of that might lie in the fact the Spaniard was substituted off in the 67th minute as Villarreal were in need of fresh and more impactful legs.
The goals from Antoine Griezmann and Arthur Melo may have given Barcelona the lead but Lenglet was vital in ensuring they got over the line at Camp Nou.