FC Barcelona ultimately emerge victorious against FC Porto at the Montjuic Stadium. With this result, the Blaugranes confirm qualification to the knockout stages of the Champions League. The victory comes as a huge sigh of relief for Xavi Hernandez, whose management was under heavy criticism.
Many players managed to put in a shift and contribute significantly to this victory. However, some players, such as Joao Cancelo, were absolutely astonishing to watch. A strong Barcelona performance was capped off with some brilliant individual displays.
Here is how the Barcelona players fared against Porto.
Player Ratings:
Inaki Pena: 7.0
A great save in the first half ensured that Barcelona ended the first 45 minutes level with Porto. He was quite solid on a night when the pressure was on him. In the place of Ter Stegen, the Spaniard has done quite well in his own right.
Joao Cancelo: 9.5
Arguably the best player on the field for FC Barcelona against Porto. Joao Cancelo opened the scoring for the Catalan giants with an astonishing effort. Apart from that, he continued to contribute by creating chances as well as helping out defensively, even providing an assist to Joao Felix.
Inigo Martinez: 7.0
The Spanish defender continues his fine form of reliability for Barcelona. His ball playing was visible enough for the Catalans to craft some promising options for themselves. Remained defensively solid as well.
Jules Kounde: 7.0
The Frenchman had some glimpses of bad timing here and there, but emerged with his best version near the end. In particular, some tackles of his were absolutely sublime in the second half to keep Porto at bay.
Ronald Araujo: 7.5
Adjectives seem to run out when describing Araujo’s commitment to FC Barcelona. Potential goal-saving tackles and duels alike, the Uruguayan was winning everything for Barcelona as he captained the side.
Ilkay Gundogan: 7.0
The German veteran had a decent outing against Porto. Some great chances as well as good positioning allowed him to turn the tide of the game in Barça’s favour. His contributions were also quite noticeable defensively.
Frenkie De Jong: 7.5
Commandeered the Barcelona midfield exceptionally well. Had his moments of sluggishness at the start, but managed to shake them off quickly. Continued to progress the ball for Barcelona whenever they seemed to be out of options.
Pedri: 6.5
Was quieter than his midfield partners against Porto. However, even the young magician had his moments to shine. A decent performance from the Barcelona Golden Boy.
Joao Felix: 7.5
The Portuguese loanee from Atletico Madrid finally got his reward. After suffering a goal drought since many games, Joao Felix finally put it into the back of the net. A classy display all around, and a goal to match it.
Robert Lewandowski: 6.0
Quite the quiet night for the Polish striker. Robert Lewandowski was unable to ultimately get a goal yet again, but his partners in attack and teammates in defense managed to cover that lack of goals from him.
Raphinha: 6.5
Regardless of the fact that he did not manage to score or assist, the Brazilian winger constantly thwarted Porto. An outrageous bicycle attempt will undoubtedly be a great highlight of the game for him.
Substitutes:
Ferran Torres: 6.5
The Spaniard arrived into the game as a replacement for Joao Felix. His runs were progressive and he always seemed to find himself in a good position. However, he could ultimately not grab a goal for himself and was quite unfortunate not to score.
Alejandro Balde: N/A
Not enough time or influence on the game to warrant a rating.
Lamine Yamal: N/A
Not enough time or influence on the game to warrant a rating.