The average number of culé goals when Dembélé and Raphinha share ownership is much lower than what the team registers when only one of the two plays
The Barça team scores more goals when it bets on profiles like Ferran Torres or Ansu Fati on the wings or plays with four midfielders
Since his arrival on the Barça bench, Xavi Hernandez He has strongly emphasized the importance of pure extremes in your schematic. The coach considers footballers who open up the field and grant more space to the interiors vital, especially in matches against rivals with extremely defensive approaches. So much so that, in three of the first four commitments of the course, Ousmane Dembele y Raphinha, the two players in the squad who fit this profile of attackers, were from the game. The declaration of intentions of the Mr. Egarense could not be clearer.
During a season, however, factors such as the states of form of the footballers, the virtues and peculiarities of the rivals, injuries, sanctions or even fortune condition the coaches. This Sunday, against Getafe, the French and the Brazilian they shared ownership for the first time in the League since the Santiago Bernabéu classic, played in mid-October, more than three months ago (with the World Cup break in between). Xavi, it is evident, has shaped his initial bet: either one or the other, but not both. Dembélé and Raphinha have only started nine of Barça’s 27 matches in all competitions.
In these nine games, the culés have scored 14 goals, that is, an average of 1.5 goals per duel. The figure is even lower when compared to the team’s scoring balance in the remaining matches, in which Xavi has brought on extremes with more tendency to go inwards –Ferran Torres and Ansu Fati– or, directly, has lined up four midfielders. The Catalans have celebrated, in these circumstances, 48 goals in 18 stakes. The mean is 2.6 goals per game, more than one point higher than that registered with Dembélé and Raphinha as starters. The difference is not huge, but it is significant.
The calendar does not let up. This same Wednesday, Barça will play their future in the Copa del Rey against a Real Sociedad that has chained nine consecutive wins and has established itself as an ‘underdog’ contender for the League title. It will be a life or death match and everything indicates that Xavi, once again, will not come out with the two pure wingers of the squad. The numbers, without a doubt, invite you not to do it.
