Barca got a 2-0 win at home against Leganes with goals from Fati and Messi (PK). The PK was somewhat soft, but Messi was hit multiple times on the run and did get hit by 2 different defenders once he was inside the box. With the loss and Espanyol stealing a point against Getafe, Leganes now sits last in the table.
Setien emptied the bench and used the maximum allowed 16 players. Neto, Pena, Araujo, FDJ, Monchu, Collado, and Martin didn't get in, but everyone else in the squad did. I didn't realize it before my last post, but I'd wager good money that there was a gentlemen's agreement that Barca not play Martin this match. Barca started off with this:
MATS
Roberto-Pique-Lenglet-Firpo
Rak-Busi-Arthur
Messi-Griez-Fati
I'll start off by saying that Leganes sat very deep in a 5-3-2/5-4-1 block with the strikers sitting 10-15 yards behind the MF line and the defenders mostly hovering just above the box. Most clubs will have some level of trouble breaking that down. That being said, man that was a static MF for the first 30 minutes. None of the MF 3 ventured forward, Messi couldn't get the ball in good spots, Griez was more discombobulated than usual (although I give him credit for making a bunch of runs and almost getting onto a Rak cross/lofted thru ball), and Barca looked vulnerable on the break. Firpo in particular had 2 guys get behind him and almost score. Lenglet bailed the team out of one and the other was a tight angle shot that glanced the post. I'd venture to say we won't see that front 6 ever again. Barca really didn't do shite and the first goal came from Firpo getting forward aggressively and Fati hitting a textbook quick low hard shot from the top of the box from an angle to loosen up Leganes and Barca as well. Once Fati broke the ice, he was more willing to take on players and Barca started moving a bit more. After the first half cooling break, players seemed to follow their passes more and forced the defense to work tracking runners and communicate.
After HT, Setien made some interesting adjustments. He moved Fati to the middle but let him roam all across the front line. This allowed Griez to push wider to the left and he was much better from this position. However, Setien almost immediately took off Roberto for Semedo and Fati for Suarez. I thought Semedo had an excellent match and at a bare minimum he showed how dangerous his speed is and Messi found him down the line several times, one of which led to a Griez goal but was called offside with VAR. Semedo also tracked back a couple of times on 30+ yard sprints where he beat everyone by a mile. While Roberto is much better playing thru the middle and letting Messi roam more freely, Semedo gets forward and offers a more direct approach. Another quick shout for Griez and his defensive workrate. All the way to the end of the match he was tracking back all the way to the defensive box and the formation played much more like a 4-4-2. He and Firpo had some nice combos working the ball up the left, but were also clunky for large stretches.
Suarez was totally anonymous and is clearly playing himself back into shape. Considering he suffered his injury in January, I'll cut him some slack but I have to think Martin is pushing him quite a bit in practice.
Not long after the double switch, Vidal came on for Busi and Rak dropped into the DMF spot. Vidal really is a dynamic player and he instantly made a bombing run right up the middle that opened up space for Suarez and Messi. He drifted wide and combined with Messi and Semedo and generally just offered much more energy. Again, I really like Busi, Rak, and Arthur individually but they should not be played together. Although the ideal MF 3 will depend on the FBs and the Forwards, FDJ and Vidal are currently in the best form.
10 minutes after that sub, Puig (!) came on for Arthur. Puig was another total jolt of energy and he had a very spirited 20-25 minutes of play. He made a run in behind the defense on the break but couldn't finish. He beat a tired defender with speed around the corner, drawing a foul near the edge of the box in a dangerous position, energized the press (even Messi was helping to win the ball back), and hit a ripper of a shot to the near post although it wasn't very difficult for the keeper. I have to think he has a role down the stretch that will only be limited because he's still so slight (he needs to go to the Messi school of neverending leg days) and perhaps if Setien tries to manage egos.
Nevertheless, a MF corps of Busi, FDJ, Vidal, Rak, Arthur, and Puig isn't terrible and now it's more about figuring out the right combos. Personally, I think of it as 2 groups--Busi, Rak, and Arthur as one and Vidal, FDJ, and Puig the second. Energy and dynamism is what separates them. I think it's fairly critical to always keep at least one and honestly probably two of the second group on the field at all times. With FDJ easily the best MF at the club and young enough to handle lots of match time, this shouldn't be an issue. But to truly get everyone in their best spots, Busi and Rak should be considered DMFs, Arthur and FDJ CMFs, and Vidal and Puig as the AMFs. While Vidal could also be in the CMF rotation, his dynamism is too valuable to be used in that role since Arthur and FDJ can handle it. I also think Rak is the second best DMF behind Busi and with a little more PT could pull even with him (not by offering the same skillset of course, but by being incredibly smart positionally, tidy in possession, and much more mobile).
TL;DR - the current best MF is probably FDJ-Busi-Vidal with Rak subbing for Busi or Vidal when Setien wants more defensive balance or prefers to push the FBs high, and Puig can play the sparkplug role in bits in pieces. While I love Arthur's skillset more than anyone else's, he needs to perform on the field starting yesterday.
Lastly, Umtiti came on for Pique around the same time as the Puig sub because Pique got studded. Big Sam is one of my favorite players but he looked rusty. He and Lenglet did not have great chemistry and Leganes had a couple of breaks that made me nervy considering it was only a 2 goal lead. I'm still glad he got time in this match, but I'm not sure if he's ahead of Araujo in the pecking order, and it's clear that Pique and Lenglet are the best pair by a lot. Umtiti is suspended for Friday, but I'm fairly certain Pique will play and Araujo is hopefully ready to be a backup for some bona fide football. I'd like to see Araujo-Lenglet get some time together so they can get comfortable if that combo is needed.