Creating a 4-1-4-1 for Barca

[abdi1721]

As the title suggests I'm trying to create a 4141 for Barcelona, I want to be able to get the best out of Messi to where he can become my top goalscorer as irl or as Salah was for Liverpool last season. 

This is what I currently have, Only PIs I have as of now is Close Down More on the "front 5"

I want to know if there are any glaring holes in the tactic, and some advice would be greatly appreciated 

Edit: Arthur is supposed to be in the AP role and Rakitic as the BBM

[Luizinho]

I’m using the same shape with Barca, what issues have you been having?

[Brian]

14 hours ago, abdi1721 said:

I want to know if there are any glaring holes in the tactic, and some advice would be greatly appreciated 

 

I would say play pre-season first on full match and discover yourself as you play. 

[Vali184]

Change the AP-A to RPM and give Messi AP-A with shoot more often player instruction while changing Dembele to a W/IF-A. I would also experiment with Suarez's role.

[Experienced Defender]

18 hours ago, abdi1721 said:

I want to be able to get the best out of Messi

I would always play Leo as a trequartista, especially on the left flank (where you play him already). That's the role that suits him perfectly, as he has all the necessary attributes to play it.

As for the rest of your system, I would recommend swapping Rakitic and Arthur around, so that Rakitic would play  the right CM as a DLP on support, while Arthur would be a mezzala on support. Suarez can play as a DLFsup, though I would try him as an F9 and would also tell him to roam from position. Roberto would be a WB on support on the right, so that he could provide more close support both to Rakitic and Messi further up the pitch.

Busquets is a perfect choice to play as a HB, and that's generally the role that perfectly suits your desired playing style in this 433 system  

Dembele (if you play him in AML) is also best suited for an IF role with support duty, so that's a good choice again 

Now, given that one the left are two attack-mided roles (MEZ and IF), even though both on support duty, Alba should IMO be slightly more conservative - FB on support instead of WB. However, I would now add the "Overlap left" TI in possession, which would make Alba going forward a bit more, while Dembele would be positioned slightly deeper. Dembele would be also told to sit narrower (PI). All this together should create a lot of nice passing combinations on the left, allowing Messi more time to explore space on his side and - given his great intelligence - exploit it through well-timed movement. 

Regarding team instructions, passing should be just shorter (rather than "much shorter"). Be more expressive is a must when it comes to Barca IMO. Counter-attack in transition is another must, because with the players you have up front, you can be lethal on the counter. Quick distribution to both CBs and FBs is something I would also recommend.

Out of possession - not sure if you need both lines set to "much higher". I would drop them both a notch - i.e. to just higher. But would add "prevent short GKD" (and possibly also use tighter marking).

So this would be my setup with these 11 lads:

F9

IFsu                               TQ

MEZsu   DLPsu

HB

FBsu    CDde    BPDde    WBsu

SKsu/de

Positive mentality / shorter passing, POD, WBIB, be more expressive, low crosses, overlap left / counter, distribute quickly to CBs & FBs, counter-press / higher DL, higher LOE, prevent short GKD, use offside trap (and use tighter marking)

PIs -  AML/IFsu (Dembele) to sit narrower; F9 (Suarez) to roam from position; DCR/BPDde (Pique) to stay wider; the midfield three (HB, DLP and MEZ) to mark tighter.

[Experienced Defender]

And yes - you might also consider adding the "dribble less" TI, in order to encourage your players to build the attacks and create chances more through a quick and fluid interchange of passes.