FC Barcelona emerge victorious against CA Osasuna in the semi-final of the Spanish Super Cup. With the semi-final now out of the way, their eyes turn towards their actual goal. Not too long from now, Barcelona and Real Madrid will meet in a Saudi Arabian final.
During this game, however, the early signs were far from convincing. Ultimately, thanks to Robert Lewandowski and Lamine Yamal, Barcelona emerged as the victors with a 2-0 scoreline. Xavi will take that second-half display as a good sign, and will hope to build on that.
Here is how the Barcelona players fared against Osasuna.
Player Ratings:
Inaki Pena: 7.0
Despite not having to do much across the game, Inaki Pena was definitely needed tonight. Especially against Budimir’s close-up attempt, the Spaniard pulled off a great save to ensure that Barcelona did not concede a goal.
Alejandro Balde: 7.0
A much more eventful performance from Balde saw the fullback offer Barcelona a lot of width and chances. His electric pace proved to be difficult for Osasuna to deal with both when he pushed forward as well as when he tracked back.
Andreas Christensen: 7.5
The most reliable central defender for Barcelona on the night, Andreas Christensen had a great game. Despite not often being a starting name anymore, the Danish defender proved exactly why Xavi can still rely on him.
Ronald Araujo: 7.0
Unlike Andreas Christensen, the game was not all smooth sailing for Ronald Araujo. Instead, the Uruguayan had a few very shaky moments to start with. However, he gradually got to his best level in the game and began to truly thwart Osasuna’s advances.
Jules Kounde: 8.0
At times it felt as if Jules Kounde was everywhere. The Frenchman made a lot of dangerous runs forward from the flank and provided a lot of overlapping options. However, he did not use that as an excuse to not return to his defensive duties. Great performance overall.
Frenkie De Jong: 8.5
Very few words can describe just how important Frenkie De Jong is to this team. His runs that cut open the middle of the field oftentimes allowed Barcelona so many attacking options to exploit. At his best, he remains one of the side’s most lethal players in terms of creativity.
Ilkay Gundogan: 8.5
Similar to De Jong, Ilkay Gundogan offers Barcelona another vertically dangerous option to utilize. His assist was ultimately the catalyst that allowed Barcelona to score the one goal that decided the clash against Osasuna.
Sergi Roberto: 6.5
Unlike his teammates in the midfield, Sergi Roberto was a lot more reserved. His passes, while mostly restrained, were key in helping Barcelona retain possession. However, the change made to replace him also proved to be useful.
Ferran Torres: 6.0
Undeniably a bit sluggish. but Ferran Torres definitely was far from his best. The original attacking trident just did not seem to click well together and the Spaniard was a great victim of that.
Robert Lewandowski: 7.0
In terms of his buildup play, Robert Lewandowski was quite frustrating to watch. However, as the game went on, his runs and timing got much better and more dangerous for Osasuna to deal with. Ultimately, it also gave him the first goal of the game.
Raphinha: 6.5
Looked promising initially, but had his time on the field cut short. Injured before the halfway mark, it will be important to see just how bad his physical concern ends up being.
Substitutes:
Lamine Yamal: 7.5
There is no doubt among those that follow him closely that Lamine Yamal is an exciting talent. Despite only being 16, he is able to perform like this on the big stage. Great goal to finish off a strong performance as well.
Joao Felix: 7.0
The Portuguese star was much more on his game this time around. His positioning, good runs, and effective passes proved to be too difficult for Osasuna to read. Strong display and even ended up getting an assist.
Pedri: 7.0
Magical to watch at times, and it is still not his best performance by a mile. Pedri has a ceiling that very few players can reach, and he demonstrated a portion of that talent against Osasuna. Clever runs, solid dribbling, awareness, and several other factors make him as great a player as he is.