It goes without saying that Barcelona will miss Lionel Messi enormously over the next few weeks – as one of the greatest players in history, that is self-evident.
The question, however, is how much will they miss him?
In addition to his goals and assists, which speak for themselves, Barca have also been left with a gaping hole in their team structure because so much of their play revolves around Messi.
The team’s style has changed significantly over the last 12 months since Luis Enrique moved away from the ‘tiki-taka’ approach for which they had become famous during Pep Guardiola’s reign.
With Xavi’s influence declining and Messi’s ‘false nine’ deep-lying forward role causing fewer problems for defences, their tactics had to evolve.
Crucially, Messi moved out to the right wing and Barca’s thrust and direction followed suit, with the bulk of their build-up play moving away from the middle, where Xavi used to run the show, and out to the wings where Messi and Dani Alves down the right, along with Neymar and Jordi Alba on the left, became the pivotal figures.
Looking at the individual player stats from Barca’s game in the last few months tells its own story: that quartet of wide players have been getting more touches of the ball than anyone else, clearly illustrating the tactical shift.
In the Champions League final against Juventus, for example, the players with the most touches were Messi (99), Alves (90) and Alba (74). And the opening home game of the new league campaign, a hard-fought 1-0 win over Malaga when Barca had to keep their shape and their patience, saw Messi lead the way with 114 touches, followed by Alba with 94.
The same pattern is repeated over and over again, with the Catalans looking to build their game and create goalscoring chances primarily from wide positions, prompted by Messi’s constant probing from his starting position on the right flank. Now, though, that may have to change as the Blaugrana contemplate entering a decent chunk of the season without their chief inspiration.
First and foremost, Enrique must decide who will take Messi’s place in the team.
The most obvious candidate, with Pedro and Gerard Deulofeu sold and Rafinha injured, is Munir El Haddadi, who came on for Messi Saturday.
But the 20-year-old is very inexperienced and keeping him in the starting line-up for the next few weeks would be a risky strategy – and he certainly wouldn’t be able to exert anywhere near the same influence as Messi.
Perhaps, then, Enrique will have to change his team’s formation, maybe switching to a 4-4-2 with Neymar and Luis Suarez up front, and Ivan Rakitic, Sergio Busquets and Andres Iniesta joined in midfield by Sergi Roberto, Gerard Gumbau or even Javier Mascherano, who could see his time in defence come to a temporary end.
It is all speculation, but Enrique will certainly have to do something and the lack of options at his disposal means he will have to be inventive.
Whatever he does decide, it is clear that Barca’s recently adopted style of play cannot be maintained without the man for whom it was designed. And quickly adopting a new tactical approach, especially considering their other absentees, will be a huge challenge.
Tough times lie ahead.
