For the first time since he was sacked by Barcelona in 2020, Quique Setien will come face-to-face with his former employer. He will do so leading a Villarreal side that dispatched with Real Madrid less than a month ago.
Villarreal are looking to react following a damaging 3-1 defeat to Elche, which leaves them sixth, just four points of the Champions League places. He also admitted that while in some senses, it was just another game, it was also a special game against a team whose philosophy Setien still admires.
Speaking to Diario AS, Setien highlighted the impressive Barcelona defence as a challenge for them. The Blaugrana have conceded just 7 goals in La Liga all season, but Setien had another significant statistic to hand too.
“There is a part of football that is not seen, such as when a team does not have the ball. This is the team that runs the most when they don’t have the ball, which is very significant statistic in a team with this potential and quality.”
“While the others are more stationary, they always push forward and are always active to recover the ball. Very few times they go at games by dropping off or with a defensive approach. The data is there when they don’t have the ball, and on the intensity they put in to get it back. And this is a fact that must be attributed to the youth of the team, and to the idea of pressing up to recover quickly, since this gives them defensive respite.”
Barcelona will travel to La Ceramica on Sunday night knowing that a win will take them 11 points clear of Real Madrid. Los Blancos play on Wednesday night against Elche, as they take on Al Hilal in the Club World Cup on Saturday.
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