Thirty shots, 6.74 xG and a Raphinha hat-trick, but FC Barcelona still hand Racing de Santander both their goals.
The numbers
| FC Barcelona | Racing de Santander | |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 69% | 31% |
| Shots | 30 | 5 |
| xG | 6.74 | 1.98 |
| Touches in opp. box | 64 | 10 |
Result the chances deserved: FC Barcelona 93% / 4% / Racing de Santander 3% (Poisson).
Starting line-ups
FC Barcelona (4-3-3): Joan García, Eric García, Christensen, Gerard Martín, Cancelo, Rodri, Olmo, Pedri, Yamal, Raphinha, Adeyemi.
Racing de Santander (4-4-2): Agirrezabala, Hernando, González, Pedro Felipe, Aarón Martín, Canales, Prati, Gueye, Sainz-Maza, Villalibre, Arana.
Racing subs: Luque, Vicente & Zabiri (59', Pedro Felipe, Arana & Villalibre), Guliashvili (78', Sainz-Maza), Salinas (86', González). Racing head coach: José Alberto, who made eight changes (EFE).
Line-ups, goal minutes, assists, xG, shots, possession and box touches: FotMob. Subs: EFE. FotMob lists Racing as a 4-1-3-2 (Prati holding, Gueye behind the strikers); shown here as a 4-4-2, positions approximate. beIN Sports and AllFootball quote a different xG model: 6.65 to 1.86. Yamal also had a penalty saved (45+5'), hit the post and had a goal ruled out for offside.
Key moments, move by move
- Yamal switches the ball to Cancelo, pushed up from left-back.
- Cancelo takes a touch at the edge of the box with time to shoot (EFE).
- His shot comes down off the crossbar and in.
- Pedri slips Raphinha through (EFE).
- Pedro Felipe brings him down: penalty.
- Raphinha sends Agirrezabala the wrong way.
- Cancelo's clearance is weak and Racing de Santander keep the ball (SI).
- Villalibre finds Gueye running between the centre-backs.
- Gueye lifts it over Joan García.
- The ball is worked back to Cancelo about 25 metres out.
- He shoots again from distance.
- It hits Villalibre, back defending, and flies into the top corner.
- Rodri intercepts a pass in midfield (EFE).
- He finds Adeyemi at the edge of the box.
- Adeyemi flicks it on to Olmo.
- Olmo sets up Raphinha, who finishes low.
- Szczęsny, on at half-time for the injured Joan García, has the ball at his feet in his own box.
- He is caught in possession trying to play out.
- Substitute Zabiri, on six minutes earlier, rolls it into the empty net.
- Adeyemi runs at the Racing de Santander defence on the left.
- Substitute Luque brings him down: another penalty.
- Raphinha puts it in the same corner as his first (beIN Sports) for his hat-trick.
- FC Barcelona pass their way through Racing de Santander's midfield.
- Yamal slides Gabriel Jesus in behind.
- Jesus fires into the top corner, ten minutes after coming on.
- Adeyemi gets away down the left.
- He squares it across the six-yard box.
- Yamal finishes into an empty net, after a saved penalty, a post and an offside goal earlier.
Olmo in the pockets, Adeyemi running at people
- Olmo between the lines. He created more chances than anyone on the pitch (SI), with five key passes and two big chances (Barca Universal). The 4–1 is the pattern: Rodri intercepts, Adeyemi flicks it on, Olmo sets up Raphinha (EFE). The animation shows it.
- Adeyemi against the full-backs. He won two penalties (SI) and set up Yamal's late goal. Three penalties in all, two scored by Raphinha and one saved from Yamal, are a big part of the 6.74 xG.
- Some of the goals were lucky. Cancelo's two long shots, one credited as a Villalibre own goal, were worth 0.047 xG between them (AllFootball). FC Barcelona finished roughly in line with the chances overall, but those two were not chances in any normal sense.
- Racing de Santander's two goals were both given to them. José Alberto's side, with eight changes, wanted the ball (Flick: "they play good football and want possession") but had five shots. Gueye's goal followed a weak Cancelo clearance and loose positioning at the back (SI, Barca Universal); Zabiri's came from Szczęsny being caught on the ball.
Recreate it in FM26
Olmo in the pockets, Adeyemi running at people
| Pos | Player | In Possession | Out of Possession |
|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Joan García | Sweeper Keeper | Sweeper Keeper |
| RB | Eric García | Inside Full-Back | Full-Back |
| RCB | Christensen | Ball-Playing Centre-Back | Covering Centre-Back |
| LCB | Gerard Martín | Centre-Back | Centre-Back |
| LB | Cancelo | Inverted Full-Back | Pressing Full-Back |
| DM | Rodri | Deep-Lying Playmaker | Screening Defensive Midfielder |
| RCM | Olmo | Midfield Playmaker | Pressing Central Midfielder |
| LCM | Pedri | Box-to-Box Playmaker | Central Midfielder |
| RW | Yamal | Wide Playmaker | Inside Outlet Winger |
| LW | Adeyemi | Inside Forward | Winger |
| ST | Raphinha | Channel Forward | Centre Forward |
Team instructions
In Possession
- Build-Up StrategyPlay Through Press
- Passing DirectnessShorter
- PatienceWork Ball Into Box
- DribblingEncouraged
- Attacking WidthWider
Out of Possession
- Line of EngagementHigh Press
- Defensive LineMuch Higher
- Defensive TransitionCounter-Press
- Trigger PressMore Often
The idea: Olmo as a Midfield Playmaker finds the pocket between Racing de Santander's lines, Adeyemi dribbles at the full-back, and Raphinha runs off both. You need a creator who is press-resistant in tight spaces and a fast, direct winger who can win fouls in the box.
What FM26 can't copy: FM26 can't stop a one-off goalkeeping error like Szczęsny's; setting Goal Kicks to Mixed only lowers the risk.
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 4-2-3-1, Balde on at 60' not 78' (for Cancelo), Gabriel Jesus on at 60' (for Raphinha). Put a second holding midfielder in front of the rotated back line, then Balde and Jesus on at the hour to protect the flank and rest Raphinha. FC Barcelona score less; the aim is fewer gifts and fresher legs for Sevilla FC. It moves FC Barcelona's win chance from 93% to 94% (xG 6.74–1.98 becomes 6.59–1.73). Try your own changes to formation, pressing, approach and substitutions.
The game-changer FC Barcelona needed
Pau Cubarsí
Barca Universal says Gerard Martín looked lost without Cubarsí next to him, and Christensen was slow to react when Gueye scored. Cubarsí passes well enough to help the keeper play out and covers fast enough to stop the ball in behind. He was what the rotated back line was missing.
David Raya
Joan García went off injured at half-time, and his replacement was caught on the ball in his own box for Racing de Santander's second goal. Flick's side builds through the keeper under pressure. Raya is one of the most comfortable goalkeepers in Europe at that and also claims crosses well.
What the analysts said
“I like the way we're playing, as well as the result and the three points.”Hansi Flick (Yahoo Sports / Barca Universal)
“The team is happy too, and playing against Racing was not easy, they play good football and want possession of the ball, and we deserved this result.”Hansi Flick (Goal)
“I'm not worried about that; he can do better, but that's football. He is our second-choice goalkeeper, and everyone makes mistakes.”Hansi Flick on Szczęsny (Yahoo Sports / Barca Universal)
“He had a niggle in his knee, and we will have to wait and see what the tests say.”Hansi Flick on Joan García (Yahoo Sports / Barca Universal)
“Happy for the goals and for the victory, which is the most important thing. The players have the hunger to always want more.”Raphinha (AP)
6.74 xG going forward, two gifts at the back.
Going forward, FC Barcelona were close to perfect. They had 30 shots, 64 touches in the Racing de Santander box and 6.74 xG (FotMob), their biggest total of the season. Seven goals from that is about right, but it was made up differently from the chances: three penalties (one saved) account for a large share of the xG, and Cancelo's two long shots, which produced two goals, were worth 0.047 between them (AllFootball).
At the back, Racing de Santander had five shots and 1.98 xG. That is almost 0.4 per shot, and it's because both goals were given to them. For the first, Cancelo's clearance was weak and Christensen was slow to react (SI, Barca Universal). For the second, Szczęsny, on at half-time, was caught on the ball in his own box. Barca Universal says Gerard Martín looked lost without Cubarsí next to him. Three days earlier Levante UD had 2.42 xG. That is two games in a row where an opponent has got roughly two expected goals, both times with a rotated back line.
The keeper situation matters most. Joan García went off with a knee problem. Flick said he wasn't worried about Szczęsny's mistake, but a team that builds out from the back through its goalkeeper this much needs a keeper who is comfortable doing it under pressure. That is the question for the hard run of fixtures in October.