CD Tacon vs: Barcelona: 4 things we learned

CD Tacon and Barcelona competed in the first Women’s El Clasico, and it’s safe to say that Las Blancas learned quite a few tough lessons in their first top-flight game.

It’s a shame Real Madrid didn’t invest in the women’s game much, much sooner, because they have plenty of ground to make up, especially against traditional rivals Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, who unquestionably field the top teams in Liga Iberdrola.

On Saturday at 12 p.m. ET, CD Tacon took part in their first game in the Spanish top flight, and they had a rough outing against an inspired Barcelona side. It was an absolute hammering and a real “welcome to Liga Iberdrola” moment for CD Tacon, but there are still a few positives to take away from this game, too. After all, Barcelona are one of the absolute best teams in Europe, so Tacon can take these lessons learned and use them to gain some confidence-building points going forward. It’s all about building towards the future and making progress.

Here are five things we learned from CD Tacon’s 9-1 loss on the road to Barca in El Clasico.

1. Yohana is a good keeper with strong sweeper tendencies

Yohana may have given up nine goals on the stat sheet, but she showed some real talent in between the sticks. This game could have been an even bigger blowout if it weren’t for her reflexes, as well as her ability to read danger. She came way out of her box several times, and she made critical interventions. At times, it was like watching Sarah Bouhaddi out there.

That said, Yohana could stand to improve on her distribution. She made a few woeful passes, including one particularly errant pass over the middle (never a good place for a keeper to make a misplaced pass) early in the match that star striker Asisat Oshoala luckily couldn’t capitalize on.

She made tons of saves in this game, which both says a lot about the defense in front of her and her own quality as a keeper. Yohana is one to watch closely this season. Her tendency to get out of the box leaves her open to risky plays, so making more long balls instead of ill-advised short passes over the middle will be key.

2. Caroline Graham Hansen was rampant

Obviously, CD Tacon struggled defensively, given how many goals were scored in this game. But it was especially concerning to see how much space they afforded Caroline Graham Hansen on the right side. She had what, four assists in this game?

Graham Hansen, as anyone who watched the World Cup can attest, is one of the absolute best attacking players in the world, especially when it comes to chance creation. Her awareness, passing, and elite skills on the ball make her one of Liga Iberdrola’s most dangerous players, and her Barcelona debut couldn’t have gone any better.

But tactically, Tacon made it way too easy for her to find space on the wings, especially in the first half on the right side. I don’t know if they intentionally wanted to pinch their fullbacks in so much, but it was the wrong call, especially with someone as dangerous as Graham Hansen on the pitch.

3. Major tactical, defensive issues

The wide play defensively was incredibly lacking, and this hurt Sofia Jakobsson and Chioma Ubogagu. It is troubling that two of the best wide attackers in the world can’t get going as much as they’d like, simply because they have to spend so much time tracking back. Jakobsson’s pace allowed her to juggle both duties pretty well, but that isn’t sustainable or smart over the course of the full season.

The communication between the center backs was also problematic. There were many miscues defensively, particularly when it came to dealing with the large volume of crosses that they faced. Since Tacon allowed so much space on the wings, they’d have to counter that by being more assertive in the box defensively. That didn’t happen.

Tacon’s pressing game was relatively effective, playing a role in their lone goal. But the issue is that their high line left them vulnerable, and if it weren’t for several questionable offsides calls that went their way, they could have been torn apart even worse by Barcelona’s vaunted attack.

Playing less out of the back, where Tacon made several critical errors to gift Barca chances and goals, will be wise against stronger opponents. Tacon would be wise to sit back a little bit more and counter, instead of pressing high and leaving themselves vulnerable. Or, again, trying to build up play out of the back against better teams. This was not a winning formula in this situation, and it didn’t play to the strengths of either the attackers or defenders.

4. Sofia Jakobsson is incredible

Chioma Ubogagu is still my pick to be CD Tacon’s best player in the 2019-2020 Liga Iberdrola campaign, but Sofia Jakobsson was the star of the show on this evening. She worked tirelessly in attack and defense, and she was rewarded by assisting the game’s lone goal, scored by star striker Jessica Martinez.

Jakobsson’s pace, intelligent flicks, and work ethic will make her a fan favorite, and she and Kosovare Asllani’s chemistry from the Swedish national team was evident. If she can get better service from the rest of the midfield and the tactical set-up plays to her counter-attacking better, particularly when it comes to lining up the back four, then she could score plenty of goals this year.

It isn’t easy to find bright spots in an 9-1 loss, but Jakobsson’s quality was quite evident against an excellent Barcelona back four. She created several dangerous chances in this game, including the lone goal for Tacon.