Barcelona sealed yet another one-goal victory on Sunday night, overcoming Villarreal 1-0 with a goal from Pedri. It was their ninth victory by that margin, and their fourth 1-0 victory by virtue of a goal from Pedri. It is illustrative of what Villarreal manager Quique Setien highlighted as the biggest change in his former side.
The Blaugrana had the better of the first half in Castellon, but saw themselves under heavy pressure in the second, withstanding it due to performances from the likes of Ronaldo Araujo and Frenkie de Jong.
Speaking to Marca after the game, Setien lamented that fact that Francis Coquelin was forced off with injury, which he felt affected their ability to control the game.
“It was an option to play with 4 [midfielders]. We were not sure if they were going to play with 4 midfielders. The intention was to match them in there. It is a pity that we have lost Coquelin, who was helping us a lot. I think it was the best option.”
However he admitted that defensively, this Barcelona is a different animal.
“It wasn’t bad for us, but this team is very good. They have a lot of speed. In addition, there is something that has changed a lot in this Barcelona: the game without the ball. They put a lot of pressure on you.”
El Submarino will be frustrated that they did not have Gerard Moreno available, probably their most lethal forward. Despite their chances, they failed to work Marc-Andre ter Stegen often.
Ahead of the match, Setien also pointed to an impressive statistic illustrating Barcelona’s defensive improvement. With 15 clean sheets from 21 games, there is no doubt that this Barcelona is based of defensive solidity.
