[ad_pod ]
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 fell to a horrendous 2-0 defeat to Granada at the weekend, with manager Ernesto Valverde making a major mistake in his starting line-up: he included both Luis Suarez and Antoine Griezmann.
On the chalkboard
Not many would’ve guessed that Granada would take a major scalp in the form of the Catalan giants.
But goals from Ramon Azeez and Alvaro Vadillo, the latter scoring from the penalty spot, gave the hosts all three points.
Watch Spanish Football Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below
Barcelona only managed one shot on target throughout the whole 90 minutes of the game, and all of that with the likes of Lionel Messi, Suarez and Griezmann in the lineup at the same time.
But looking back, the core problem just might be that Suarez and Griezmann were together on the pitch from the get-go.
A costly error
Griezmann is currently suffering on the left-wing because of Suarez. Since the Uruguayan still seems to be the team’s number one choice in the centre-forward position, the Frenchman is consequently slotted wide instead. He has played there three times already this term.
We have already seen the differences between Griezmann’s performances when he’s playing in his natural position as opposed to what he offers when Valverde decides to drop him to the left. And it was on display against Granada once again.
The French forward managed only one shot throughout the game, also tallying no dribbles and no key passes. When we also add the fact that he only recorded 83.3% passing accuracy with just 45 touches throughout the match, the picture suddenly becomes that much clearer.
It’s safe to say that Griezmann had next to no impact on the game and he couldn’t express himself like we know he usually does. His reputation is one the footballing world is well aware of and yet, Valverde seems to be utilising him the wrong way.
What is even more concerning is Suarez’s form. The Uruguayan had a really poor display against Borussia Dortmund last week and yet, the coach decided not only to pick him in the starting lineup but also decided to sacrifice Griezmann once again to accommodate him.
This stubbornness in his team selection might prove costly for Barcelona in the long run and is already having a rather negative effect on their results.
Suarez, indeed, has scored in just one La Liga game this season – netting a brace versus Valencia – and it does not appear that he is at his sparkling best just yet.
Barca have won just two of their La Liga encounters thus far – both by 5-2 scorelines versus Valencia and Real Betis – while they have lost to Athletic Bilbao and Granada and drawn with Osasuna.
A change in tactics, then, is needed; Suarez might have to be the one to suffer.
