Yamal scores after six minutes, Fermín runs the game between the lines, and Valencia CF don't have a shot after half-time.
The numbers
| FC Barcelona | Valencia CF | |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 74% | 26% |
| Shots | 25 | 3 |
| On target | 10 | 2 |
| xG | 4.08 | 0.66 |
| Accurate passes | 724 | 203 |
| Touches in opp. box | 57 | 10 |
Result the chances deserved: FC Barcelona 92% / 5% / Valencia CF 2% (Poisson).
Starting line-ups
FC Barcelona (4-2-3-1): Joan García, Eric García, Cubarsí, Gerard Martín, Espart, Rodri, Pedri, Yamal, Fermín, Gordon, Raphinha.
Valencia CF (3-4-2-1): Dimitrievski, Diakhaby, Pepelu, Maffeo, Arnau Martínez, Ugrinic, Dieng, Jesús Vázquez, Otorbi, Guerra, Danjuma.
Valencia CF subs: Elliott (50', Maffeo; his debut), Tárrega & Gayà (54', Pepelu & Vázquez), Córdoba & Sato (62', Diakhaby & Guerra), Hugo Duro (75', Otorbi). Valencia manager: Carlos Corberán.
Line-ups, minutes, xG, possession, shots and box touches: FotMob. Shots on target and accurate passes: Sofascore. FotMob and Sofascore list Valencia in a 5-4-1 (shown here as 3-4-2-1, with Otorbi and Guerra as the wide midfielders); VAVEL lists 4-2-3-1. Valencia CF's own report times the Elliott change at 54' and pairs it differently.
Key moments, move by move
- Fermín lifts a pass over Valencia CF's back five.
- Yamal runs onto it from the right, inside the box.
- Dimitrievski comes out and Yamal lifts it over him with his left foot.
- Gordon gets free on the left.
- He finds Fermín arriving in the box.
- Fermín sweeps it with his left foot inside the far post.
- FC Barcelona break quickly and Fermín carries it towards the box.
- He slips a short pass to Raphinha as he arrives.
- Raphinha finishes from close range with his right foot.
- Pedri plays it to Olmo on the edge of the box.
- Olmo returns it first time.
- Pedri finishes low with his right foot from the centre of the box.
- Olmo passes into the box, and Yamal times his run to stay onside.
- Yamal takes it past his defender.
- He finishes with his left foot into the bottom right corner.
Fermín between the lines against a 5-4-1
- Valencia CF sat in a 5-4-1 (Sofascore) and did "plenty of last-ditch work", but conceded after six minutes. Corberán: "Conceding a goal so early, on their first or second attack, made everything much more difficult."
- Fermín was the key. He played in the gap between Valencia CF's midfield four and back five: one goal, two assists, four chances created and a shot off the post (Sofascore). The first goal came from exactly that: he lifted the ball over the back five for Yamal's run from the right. The animation reconstructs it.
- No fixed number 9, again. Raphinha, Yamal, Fermín and Gordon kept swapping places, and Corberán admitted there was no answer: "Whether you play with a mid-block, a deep defensive line, or pressing high up the pitch, Barça always finds solutions."
- Total control after the break. FC Barcelona had 3.10 xG in the second half to Valencia CF's 0.00, and Valencia didn't have a shot after half-time (Sofascore). Olmo came on at 75' and set up two goals in 15 minutes.
Recreate it in FM26
FC Barcelona · Breaking a 5-4-1: a number 10 between the lines · 4-2-3-1Show cardHide card
Breaking a 5-4-1: a number 10 between the lines
| Pos | Player | In Possession | Out of Possession |
|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Joan García | Sweeper Keeper | Sweeper Keeper |
| RB | Eric García | Inside Full-Back | Holding Full-Back |
| RCB | Cubarsí | Ball-Playing Centre-Back | Covering Centre-Back |
| LCB | Gerard Martín | Ball-Playing Centre-Back | Stopping Centre-Back |
| LB | Espart | Inverted Full-Back | Pressing Full-Back |
| RDM | Rodri | Deep-Lying Playmaker | Screening Defensive Midfielder |
| LDM | Pedri | Box-to-Box Playmaker | Pressing Defensive Midfielder |
| RW | Yamal | Inside Forward | Inside Outlet Winger |
| AM | Fermín | Advanced Playmaker | Tracking Attacking Midfielder |
| LW | Gordon | Winger | Tracking Winger |
| ST | Raphinha | False Nine | Tracking Centre Forward |
Team instructions
In Possession
- Passing DirectnessShorter
- Attacking TransitionPatient Build-Up
- Build-Up StrategyPlay Through Press
- Creative FreedomMore Expressive
- Attacking WidthWider
Out of Possession
- Line of EngagementHigh Press
- Defensive LineMuch Higher
- Defensive TransitionCounter-Press
The idea: Gordon and Yamal stay wide to stretch the back five, Raphinha drops off, and Fermín plays in the gap in front of the defence. You need a number 10 who can pass and score from there, and a winger who runs in behind when he lifts the ball over the top.
What FM26 can't copy: FM26 won't give you the constant position swaps between Raphinha, Fermín and the wingers; Creative Freedom only goes part of the way.
Our reading of this match in FM26 terms, not an exported tactic file. Role names as in FM26.
What if? Replay it with a different plan
Our best alternative plan: Formation 4-3-3, Gabriel Jesus on at 65' (for Raphinha). Very little to change. Put a second runner between the lines alongside Fermín and give Raphinha a rest earlier with the result already settled. The xG barely moves; the minutes saved might matter later. It moves FC Barcelona's win chance from 92% to 93% (xG 4.08–0.66 becomes 4.18–0.66). Try your own changes to formation, pressing, approach and substitutions.
The game-changer FC Barcelona needed
Dani Olmo
Against a deep 5-4-1, FC Barcelona's best weapon was a player receiving between the lines. Olmo did that for 15 minutes and set up two goals. Starting him on the left of the attack, next to Fermín in the middle, would have given Valencia CF's back five two playmakers to deal with instead of one.
Joshua Kimmich
Eric García, a centre-back by trade, went off after 29 minutes, and Koundé had been exposed at right-back against Rayo Vallecano a week earlier. Kimmich defends the flank but, against a deep block like Valencia CF's, steps into midfield when FC Barcelona have the ball. That would give Pedri another passer and keep a reliable defender on the right.
What the analysts said
“We played a fantastic game, it was nearly perfect. We controlled, we were dominant and this is what I want from the team.”Hansi Flick (Daily Sabah)
“Nothing is perfect, you always can improve.”Hansi Flick (SuperSport)
“Barça was a superior team, from start to finish.”Carlos Corberán (Yahoo Sports)
“Whether you play with a mid-block, a deep defensive line, or pressing high up the pitch, Barça always finds solutions.”Carlos Corberán (Yahoo Sports)
“Conceding a goal so early, on their first or second attack, made everything much more difficult.”Carlos Corberán (SuperSport)
The chances are the story, not the finishing.
What's happening. Barcelona won 5–0 at Valencia: Yamal scored after six minutes, Fermín ran the game between the lines, and Valencia had no shot after half-time.
How it works. Valencia set up a 5-4-1 to close the middle. Fermín kept finding the space between those two lines, setting up the first goal with a lifted pass over the back five, scoring the second and setting up the third on a counter. Against a back five, the space is in front of it; a number 10 who can play there unlocks it. Gordon and Yamal stayed wide to stretch it.
What the shots say. Replaying every shot, Barcelona win 99 times in 100. Across their first four league games, Barcelona's goals were only a little above their chances; the chances themselves were enormous. The only worry was Eric García going off injured from the least settled position in the team, right-back.