After a rather frustrating win over Valencia at the Mestalla, Xavi’s men will at least be happy to have crossed that hurdle with all 3 points secured in the bag.
Player Ratings:
Ter Stegen: 7.0
Did not have to do much during the game bar a few stops, but was efficient and precise with his distribution as he usually is.
Alejandro Balde: 7.0
Was solid defensively, but showcased vulnerability on the offensive front. Good enough considering he was played out of his natural position at Left back.
Jules Kounde: 8.0
One of Barcelona’s standout performers last night was defensively convincing in both halves but unfortunately had to be taken off in the second half due to discomfort.
Eric Garcia: 6.5
Convincing while he was on the pitch and seemed off to a good start, had to be taken off right before half-time due to an awkward landing that left him injured.
Jordi Alba: 7.0
Orchestrated some decent half chances through his constant barrage of runs in behind and off the flank, regularly providing the team another outlet to feed the ball into or connect play with.
Sergio Busquets: 6.0
Was dependable enough, did not need to step too far out of a casual performance, and was relatively decent for as long as he was on the field.
Frenkie De Jong: 7.0
Did not need to do anything overtly spectacular, as he managed to act as a form of cohesion between the entirety of the team through his constant prowling and distributive connectivity.
Pedri: 9.0
Arguably the man of the match, with his constant defense-splitting moves, passes, and
initiations. Was crucial in the earlier disallowed goal, as well as being instrumental in Barcelona’s winner. Constantly living up to the hype around his name.
Ansu Fati: 7.5
Was consistently making darting runs between the lines with smart thinking, and one of these linkups and runs resulted in a disallowed goal as well as coming close to scoring on another occasion. Getting back into his stride gradually.
Ousmane Dembele: 6.0
A shadow of his typical self, most of everything that Dembele attempted either ended up in failure or simply seemed too dull to create any sort of wound into the team from Valencia.
Robert Lewandowski: 8.0
Came close to scoring on various occasions, particularly his initial header that struck against the side post. Ended up rescuing all 3 points for Barcelona at the very death of the game with his acute positional awareness.
Substitutes:
Marcos Alonso: 5.0
Sloppy initially but gradually grew into the game, still needs work before he can participate as a reliable CB from time to time.
Gavi: 6.5
Doing what Gavi does best, he provided the required intensity and tenacity as soon as he was added to the field and allows Barcelona to become a much more aggressive team holistically.
Ferran Torres: 6.0
Great at linking up and even creating chances, particularly when partnered with Lewandowski, but ended up missing a simple tap-in by completely fluffing his finish. Still needs work on his finishing as a whole.
Raphinha: 6.5
Seemed quite eager to make a difference following criticism amongst reports in Spanish media regarding his lackluster performances, yet despite not being able to respond as he would’ve liked, he ended up providing a crucial yet equally wonderful assist to Lewandowski to score the winner.
Gerard Pique: 5.5
Looked as if he had no expectations to be brought on in tonight’s game, yet once on the pitch, he was dependable enough to see out the rest of the game following Kounde’s substitution.
