How to play against Barca?

[Draakon]

I'm playing with Ajax and was drawn against Barcelona in CL. They crushed me in away game 4-0. Messi was unstoppable, scoring twice and I was lucky to escape with 0-4.

So how to play against team that has way superior players than yours and are strong in all areas - strength, speed, technical ability and long shots + couple of players who are individually impossible to handle as Messi and Ribery (I'm in season 2009/10 and Barca bought him from Bayern).

[pandemonium]

Not sure Draakon. I've played against Barca a lot in my saves (w/ Sevilla and Villarreal) and I can't find a way to stop them. The only weakness that they may have is their defenders are a bit on the short side (aside Pique) so you might be able to trouble them if you have a big TM and keep crossing. Good Luck

[Dirty_ACE]

If it's any help, I'm using the tactics set made by Reo. You can find them on the first page of this forum. I was drawn with Barca in the same group in CL and managed to beat them both home and away, 3-0 each time. I used the defense tactic from the set to play away and at home I used the balanced tactic. The tactic set also employs opposition instructions which are pretty important. With those I managed to completely shut down Barca's midfield (Xavi, Iniesta, Toure) and attack (Messi, Guardado, Vela). Even when Barca went into a 3 striker formation with Vela, Gomez, and Eto'o, they still couldn't break through my team. I'm playing with Bristol City by the way.

[michelco]

since i play alot with valencia i've found that using a 4-4-2 and a big target man to aim crosses at works very well versus barcelona. they often push up their fullbacks which leaves big gaps for wingers to use