Spanish Segunda Division - Match Review: Barcelona B 2-1 vs Xerez
Barcelona’s B team took on Xerez in their second match of the season at the Mini-Estadi in Catalonia, Spain. The referee for the match was Eduardo Prieto from Spain and his linesmen were Cesar De Juana González and Francisco Javier García Sabuco.
Barcelona B won their first match of the Segunda division but they were expected a tougher test against Xerez in the second match due to the superior nature of the Spanish club’s squad. Xerez were relegated from the La Liga after finishing bottom of the 2009-2010 league table. Regardless of the fact that Xerez were not good enough to play at the top level of Spanish football in the 2010-2011 season, their squad is certainly seen as fit enough to compete and qualify for promotion again in the 2010-2011 Segunda Division season.
Xerez lined up with a conventional flat back four formation, with four defenders, four midfielders and two strikers. Whereas their opponents, Barcelona B adopted the same formation that their senior side plays, the famous Barcelona setup with only three ball playing midfielders, four defenders and three strikers, two of which are part time wingers. Barcelona B had the home advantage for their second match of the season as the match was being played in their home province of Catalonia.
Thus, they were favourites to win the match. Last time Barcelona B ended up as winners of the Segunda Division was way back in 2001 but the team is renowned for being an experience gaining stage for potential superstars as players like Xavi Hernandez, Busquets and Iniesta all played for Barcelona’s B team before earning themselves first team spots in the club’s proper first team.
The Catalonians went into their second competitive match of the season without several key players. Barcelona B’s first choice goalkeeper Ruben Mino was not available for selection due to his call up by Spanish national team’s Under 21 squad same goes for their playmaker Thiago, who was also called up by Spain’s U-21 side. Barcelona B started the match off with their typical passing and off-the-ball movement which immediately made an impact as in the 2nd minute of the match Jonathan Soriano scored for the home side to give Barcelona B a one goal to nil lead.
However after that Barca B but found it hard to break down Xerez’s organized defense. Despite being one of the worst defenses in La Liga in the 2009-2010 season, Xerez were proving more than a handful for Barcelona B in the beginning of the first half. As usual Barca B had a lot of possession but struggled to make good use of it after their opening goal. Their wide men upfront tried to stretch the Xerez defense by making runs which almost hugged the touchlines but on numerous times in the first thirty minutes of the match, Xerez’s center backs did well to maintain their positional discipline which is quite important at football’s most competitive level.
Xerez also had some time on the ball themselves but failed to retain the ball in an efficient manner. Almost all of Xerez’s forward play consisted of hoofing the ball towards their front men who more often than not lost their aerial battles against Barcelona B’s center backs. Just before the half ended, Xerez equalized with Mario Bermejo’s clinical finish. It was a sucker punch of the young Barca B side as they had dominated the match up till then and were in the lead even. At the half time both the teams were deadlocked at one all. At the start of the second half, Xerez appeared to be the brighter of the two sides but they couldn’t capitalize on their early chances. In 73rd minute of the second half, Barca B again went into the lead and this time Saul scored the goal with a powerful drive across the goal. Saul’s goal was enough to seal the win for Barca B, as they even hit the post in the later stages of the match. Eventuallythe encounter ended in a 2-1 win for Barcelona B.
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