Antoine Griezmann at Barcelona
Can Antoine Griezmann succeed at Barcelona? Did Quique Setién briefly stumble upon a solution?
With the return of the 19/20 La Liga season, re-ignited debates regarding Antoine Griezmann and his future at Barcelona are back in full-swing. With his ever-changing role within the squad, the Frenchman has had a difficult first season in Catalonia. With that said, it does seem as if Quique Setién had stumbled upon a solution prior to the suspension of the season.
Since the loss at the Mestalla, Quique Setién reverted the team’s setup back into the club’s famous 4-3-3 formation. In many of the subsequent matches, and particularly against Levante, Getafe, Eibar, and Real Soceidad, Griezmann was deployed in a hybrid role, interchanging between a striker and a right-sided inside-forward. Overall this setup did seem to get the best out of Griezmann, the team talisman Lionel Messi, and Barcelona collectively.
Overview of Griezmann’s role:
Generally speaking, and irrespective of the setup in question, Setién has always attempted to do two things:
Create a diamond/box structure in midfield to overload the center of the pitch and position a free-man between the opposition’s lines.
Position 3 players level with the opponent's last-line of defense to stretch the pitch vertically. Furthermore, he positions them across the opposition’s last line of defense to stretch the opponent horizontally.
Indeed, as you can see in the image above, both of Setién’s goals are achieved here. With Firpo (the left-back) pushing forward, Vidal moves centrally to act as a striker. Griezmann remains wide to stretch the opposition, freeing Messi between the opposition’s lines in his favored right half-space. When Barcelona’s right-back pushes forward to join the front-line, it is Griezmann who moves centrally and acts as a striker.
In both scenarios the objective is the same: stretch the pitch both vertically & horizontally to create time and space on the ball between the opposition’s lines and in the half-spaces.
What did the setup allow Griezmann to do?
Playing down the flank gave Griezmann more spaces to attack off-the-ball. Indeed, contrary to the prevailing narrative, the Frenchman does attempt runs in-behind the defense often. At Barcelona however, this is often much easier to do down the flanks and in the half-spaces than it is through the middle.
With this approach, Barcelona were able to punish teams much more effectively in counter-attacking situations, particularly when facing modern full-backs that play high upfield. Messi's gravity in attracting defenders also helps free up the half-spaces and wide areas for his teammates. Griezmann’s ability to attack available spaces was particularly evident in such situations. He consistently found himself through on goal.
Moreover, playing on the right specifically, allows Griezmann to cut inside onto his preferred left-foot. This helps him link-up better with teammates when the attacking phase becomes established, and the opposition drops deep. Using his preferred foot also allows him to create chances for his teammates in a more direct and effective fashion. We see some examples of this below.
Was this approach effective?:
Despite the small sample size of 4 matches, this approach does seem to have unlocked something in Griezmann. Indeed as seen in some of the above examples, the Frenchman found himself in goal-scoring positions often when playing in this setup. But this setup did not only benefit Antoine. Indeed Messi, and Barcelona collectively, seemed to thrive whenever Setién adopted this approach. Indeed underlying expected goal (xG) values of Griezmann, Messi, and Barcelona seems to demonstrate this.
Were it not for some uncharacteristically poor finishing by Messi and Griezmann, there may not have been a need for this analysis. What is perhaps most encouraging about this approach is the amount of time and space in offered Messi on the ball. As the graphic below illustrates, Messi was able to create significantly more shots off the dribble, and via open play passes, in this setup. Indeed the additional space, wider passing lanes, and the weapons to punish narrow or collapsing defenses that this setup created for the Argentine truly was invaluable.
Conclusion
Given the sizable transfer fee, the uninspiring performances, and the general chaos that surrounds the club, Griezmann first season in Barcelona cannot be deemed a success. In Catalonia, the jury is still very much out on Antoine Griezmann. However, despite the relatively small sample size, Quique Setién may have found the formula that rescues the Frenchman’s career at the club.
