Skip to content

AnalysisLaLiga

Analysis

Barcelona: LaLiga's best side at set pieces

Barcelona make 0.66 xG a game from set pieces and allow 0.09: +0.57, best in LaLiga.

Published by The90Pro · 3 min read

Instagram card

+0.57

Barcelona, set-piece xG difference a game

0.66 for and 0.09 against a game; 4 goals for, 2 against; next: Osasuna +0.40; 10 games

Corners, free kicks and long throws are where small margins live. Barcelona make 0.66 xG a game from set pieces and allow 0.09, a net +0.57 a game, with Osasuna next on +0.40; in goals it is 4 for and 2 against. It is an edge that does not depend on open play going well.

The league picture

Set-piece xG is the value of the chances from corners, free kicks and throw-in routines, penalties left out. It is the part of the game a coach can drill, and over a season the edge adds up. Barcelona sit in the "dangerous and solid" corner, with Alavés, Athletic, Osasuna and others.

Set-piece xG for and against a game, this season
↖ Little threat, leakyDangerous both ways ↗Set-piece xG against a game () →
↙ Quiet both waysDangerous and solid ↘Set-piece xG for a game () →

Hover or tap a crest for its numbers. Dashed lines: league average.

How they do it

Barcelona have lined up in a 4-2-3-1 in 7 of their 10 LaLiga games; this is the eleven that has started there most, with each player's average match rating.

Their pass network from the 1-2 defeat against Real Madrid on Sunday shows where each player took the ball and who found whom. The busiest link was Pedri to Rodri.

Usual XI: 4-2-3-1 in 7 of 10 games, season average ratings4-2-3-1
  • 8.5Lamine YamalBAR
  • 7.2Joan GarcíaBAR
  • 7.4CubarsíBAR
  • 7.6EspartBAR
  • 7.5GordonBAR
  • 8.6RaphinhaBAR
  • 7.2Gerard MartínBAR
  • 7.1KoundéBAR
  • 7.7RodriBAR
  • 7.5FermínBAR
  • 7.6PedriBAR

Photos: Bryan Berlin / CC BY-SA 4.0 · Biso / CC BY 4.0

Pass network, 1-2 defeat v Real Madrid
14Joan García42Gerard Martín17Fermín34Cubarsí21Lamine Yamal27Cancelo49Rodri49Pedri27Balde14Raphinha19Gordon

Tap or hover a player to see who they passed with and how often.

Barcelona · Longest unchanged XI, 29' to 73' (after an early substitution)Busiest link: Pedri and Rodri, 21 passes.Centralisation index 0.07: Rodri made 1.7× an even share of the passes.

Circles show passes made; lines, passes between the pair. Brighter and thicker means more. Attacking to the right. The full match

The players who drive it, and the number that matters for this story:

Key players, this season
  • CubarsíCentre-back3.6 per 90 in 602 minutes
    24aerials won
  • ChristensenCentre-back2.7 per 90 in 402 minutes
    12aerials won
  • Gerard MartínCentre-back1.5 per 90 in 661 minutes
    11aerials won
  • EspartLeft-back1.2 per 90 in 650 minutes
    9aerials won

Photos: Bryan Berlin / CC BY-SA 4.0 · Антон Зайцев, CC BY-SA 3.0

The trend

Over 5 games at a time, Barcelona's set-piece xG difference a game is +0.83 now, up from +0.31 after their first 5. Osasuna, the line to compare with, are on +0.64; the league average is 0.00. It is 10 games, so a few shots either way still move this a long way. Penalties are left out.

Set-piece xG difference a game, rolling 5 games
00.30.50.815678910

Matchday along the bottom, up the side. Dashed line: league average. Tap the names to show or hide a line.

What to watch

Next for Barcelona: at home to Alavés on Saturday (the match page). On set-piece xG for a game, Alavés are on 0.29 against Barcelona's 0.66: the two are on the same side of the league average, so the game turns on who does it better.

New to a term? See the glossary.

More from LaLiga

9.4Lamine Yamal, best rating

Team of the week

LaLiga team of matchday 11

The best-rated XI of matchday 11, led by Lamine Yamal (9.4).