Barcelona vs. Ajax: Lionel Messi, Neymar & Jordi Alba Destroy Ajax's Right Flank

A battle of similar philosophies ensued on Tuesday evening, with Barcelona beating Ajax 3-1 at the Camp Nou. It was the perfect contest ahead of the Clasico this weekend, with Luis Enrique's men winning the game early and resting key players.

Let's take a tactical look at how this game played out.

Formations and XIs

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Both sides utilised a base 4-3-3, but in reality the formations were very malleable. As Barca dominated, Ajax fell into a 4-4-1-1 to cover the flanks better; as Ajax improved, Barca shrank into a 4-5-1 set.

Messi, Neymar & Alba Torture Van Rhijn

Ajax's first problem was that they didn't press Barcelona's centre-backs in possession. They also left Javier Mascherano alone for long periods if he dropped deep enough.

SportsNet

The home side began with five minutes of continuous possession—almost as if they were reminding Ajax who the best possession team in 2014 really is. After knocking it around for those five minutes, Gerard Pique launched a raking, cross-field ball into Neymar's path as he ran in behind the defence off the left.

Over the next 10 minutes, Barca mixed up spells of slow possession with up-tempo switches, and the left flank was always the target. Jordi Alba began bearing down on Ricardo van Rhijn, Neymar confused him with his movement and Messi took advantage of the space.

The original space down the left opened up because Van Rhijn was playing Neymar from a narrow starting position, but Alba's runs forced him wider. Neymar then began dipping inside and troubling Joel Veltman, and all the while Messi lurked centrally.

SportsNet

To be honest, I felt sorry for Van Rhijn.

Five cross-field balls were played into Van Rhijn's area over the first 20 minutes, assaulting and confusing him from a positional standpoint. Then Messi skipped a challenge and surged forward, and with the defence scrabbling narrow to surround him, the Argentinian teed up Neymar in the exact space Van Rhijn should have been. 1-0.

SportsNet

High Line, High Risk?

Barca themselves don't press tremendously. They did it better than Ajax, but there's a natural restraint on players like Neymar and Messi when it comes to hounding down the opposition. One of the more interesting nuances in their play is when Pedro swaps to centre-forward, pushing Messi to the right, in order to instigate a pressing phase.

SportsNet

Regardless of whether Pedro does that, Gerard Pique leads a very high defensive line. Ajax didn't have the pace (or the boldness) to take advantage of it, and with Marc-Andre ter Stegen still building his confidence, putting some pressure on the sweeper-'keeper would have been wise.

The German practically did nothing; the first Ajax shot was in the 41st minute, per WhoScored, and the only one on target out of nine was the late consolation goal.

If Barca play a similar game against Real Madrid in the Clasico, their run of clean sheets will end quickly.

Struggles Sans Messi and Neymar

Much has been made of Neymar and Messi's goalscoring records this season. They've become better friends off the pitch, their understanding while on it has improved and they're now the fearsome duo fans have been hoping for since the Brazilian signed last summer.

But more needs to be made of their skills when building attacks, too, and once they'd both been substituted midway through the second half, Ajax bit back.

Especially without Sergio Busquets, Barca evidently struggled to move the ball between the lines from the 66th minute onward. With Messi and Neymar—two vitally important conduits for possession, particularly under pressure—off, even Andres Iniesta had trouble.

Sandro Ramirez, Rafinha and Munir El Haddadi led the charge in the closing stages, and fortunately for Enrique one of very few successful transitions (shown in GIF form) led to a killer third goal.

SportsNet

The good news? Suarez's return is imminent.

Quickfire Conclusions

• A very strong opening half/60 minutes from Barca, who really hit their offensive stride early.
• Frank de Boer will likely want that game back again, knowing his side could do better, but the infant-like nature of his side meant he was never likely to cause a shock.
• Neymar and Messi are stunning in front of goal and superb in build-up play. Adding Suarez to this...well. We certainly can't wait!

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