A disappointing draw at the Mestalla sees Barcelona drop even more points in La Liga. Held to a 1-1 stalemate by Valencia, Barcelona have succumbed to another demoralizing result away from home. Xavi’s men will not be pleased, especially given the chances they squandered.
The Catalan giants were already aware of the danger that Valencia poses, but were still unable to complete their objective despite fielding a strong eleven. There were some bright performances from certain players here and there, however.
Here is how the Barcelona players fared against Valencia.
Player Ratings:
Inaki Pena: 7.5
An incredibly solid performance from the Spanish goalkeeper. Inaki Pena made some crucial saves and was arguably the main reason Barcelona ended the first half without conceding. Could not do much about Valencia’s goal, however.
Joao Cancelo: 7.0
Creatively, Joao Cancelo was quite active. First-time passes were coupled with solid wide play from the Portuguese fullback. Ultimately, however, he failed to establish a solid connection with his winger and often left too much space vacant around him.
Jules Kounde: 6.5
Not exactly the best first half from the Frenchman, given the hasty decisions he made at different points. Lucky to survive that initial scare, he did improve his performance into the second half.
Ronald Araujo: 7.0
A relatively better overall performance than Jules Kounde, but was still far from ideal. While his positioning and defensive reading was on point, Araujo himself was also sluggish at certain points in making quick decisions.
Alejandro Balde: 6.5
Gradually, Alejandro Balde’s performances have started to improve. The Spaniard seems keen to retain his starting position and did well on both the offensive front and also was cautious in his defensive duties.
Ilkay Gundogan: 7.5
The German veteran remains one of the most consistently stronger performers within this Barcelona team. By advancing into dangerous areas, Gundogan was able to connect with some really good goal-scoring chances. Unfortunately, he could not put any in the net.
Pedri: 8.0
The youngster remains a great example of why people continue to hope for the better with this Barcelona. In terms of skill and talent, very few match Pedri and it was all on display at the Mestalla.
Frenkie De Jong: 8.0
It was arguably the Dutchman’s stellar lobbed passes that created the most danger for Valencia to defend against. Even the first goal scored by Barcelona came through a very intricate lobbed pass made by De Jong.
Raphinha: 7.5
The Brazilian winger was quite the dynamic force on the night. Almost all by himself, he provided a clear path to goal and was energetic throughout the game. Assisted Joao Felix’s opener but was also guilty of squandering chances.
Robert Lewandowski: 6.5
There was definite improvement in Robert Lewandowski’s game. Rather than hesitate and be wasteful with his touches like before, the Polish striker was willing to use his technique first time in this game. Created a few dangerous moments that Valencia had to worry about, but nothing more, unfortunately.
Joao Felix: 7.5
Scored the only goal of the game for Barcelona. However, apart from that the Portuguese forward was not quite influential. He can also be considered guilty of a rather sluggish display that left Barcelona on the back foot on several occasions.
Substitutes:
Ferran Torres: 6.5
Entered a few dangerous positions but ultimately did not score. In particular, he received arguably the best chance of the game but failed to convert it. That miss will likely stay in his head for now.
Lamine Yamal: N/A
Not enough time or influence in the game to warrant a rating.
