At Camp Nou on Wednesday night, Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Fermin Lopez and Lamine Yamal put on an absolute clinic when it comes to positional fluidity and interchange – and how you can use that to tear holes in the defence of your opponents. The opponents in question this time in the UEFA Champions League were Newcastle United, who had no answer for what Barcelona did to them from 2-2 to 6-2.
The first half of Barcelona’s UEFA Champions League demolition of Newcastle United was one of the most enjoyable halves of football this season.
After snatching a draw at St. James Park the previous week, Barcelona once again found themselves in a fight, as they struggled to contain Newcastle’s brutal transition counter-attacks.
Then, in a space of just over 20 minutes either side of half-time, the Catalans kicked into top gear and ripped their Premier League opponents to shreds.
Aided by Pedri and Gerard Martin, Barcelona’s fearsome attacking quartet shifted around the pitch with a fluidity that completely bamboozled Newcastle.
Formations are a bit of a misnomer in modern football, but watching the way Robert Lewandowski, Fermin Lopez, Raphinha and Lamine Yamal interchanged was a true joy.
You can see below on the team’s average position map from the game just how close the front four were, near enough all lined up.
Barcelona 3-2 Newcastle – Trademark Yamal to ‘baby Muller’
There is no better comparison for Fermin than former Bayern Munich and Germany legend Thomas Muller.
It is not a perfect comparison – as indeed there wasn’t one for Muller when he broke through – but the way Fermin obsessively tries to find these little pockets, whilst not being at the same technical level as his team-mates, is eerie.
The build-up to the penalty that would become the third goal for Barcelona embodies it. Here, Raphinha, Lewandowski and Fermin are all in a line as Yamal drops deep on the right to receive the ball.