Ball Progression with a Double Pivot Midfield
Barcelona's Keira Walsh & Patri Guijarro have established chemistry in possession
During the summer transfer window, Barcelona nabbed Keira Walsh from Manchester City for a world record fee.
The decision to get Walsh was a combination of her quality, the injury to Alexia Putellas, and the question marks that still surround last summer’s purchase of Ingrid Engen.
Probably the biggest uncertainty around Walsh’s arrival was how she would fit into a midfield with Patri Guijarro.
Patri naturally played a deeper role for the Catalan club in a midfield with her, Aitana Bonmatí and Alexia.
Jonatan, Barcelona’s manager, has seemed to have solved this by giving Patri the freedom to push up higher or drop down into a double pivot as she sees fit.
In Barcelona’s most recent games against Real Madrid, Bayern, and Atleti, the chemistry that has grown between Walsh and Patri was apparent.
This post will look at the movements and patterns the two midfielders use in order to help progress possession.
One Drops Deep, One Stays High
Against Real Madrid, Walsh often dropped deep in front of Madrid’s forward line in order to receive the ball.
Madrid’s defensive setup was all over the place in the midfield, and Patri exploited that by presenting herself as an option in between lines.
Movement that Creates Space for a Teammate
Since Walsh tends to be the deeper of the two, she will often guide her mark away from the space where Patri could potentially receive in.
Attracting Marks to Open Passing Options
When Walsh and Patri are in a double pivot, they often attract the attention of opposing players.
This allows them to find higher positioned players in space.
Shifting Defensive Setups and Switching the Field
Sometimes Walsh and Patri will end up on the same side of the field during the buildup phase.
At first, it appears to be unbalanced to have both of them so close to each other, but they use it to their advantage.
Their closeness to each other on one side of the field shifts the defense to that side and could even be a cue for teams to press.
In this case they are able to find the opposite sided center back faced up.
Conclusion
I think Walsh’s quality is highlighted in this Barcelona side.
It was interesting reading her interview with Michael Cox after the Euros.
She talked about how her dad made her watch Sergio Busquets while she was growing up.
It’s one thing to watch and dream of playing like Busquets and to play for the same club as Busquets. It’s another to actually do it.
