First away win in the league this season for Barça vs Villarreal yesterday. And 2nd win in a row in the league. What a great srltart for the Xavi Era. How did the players do? Let’s take a look:
Defense
GK: Ter Stegen – 7.5/10 Had a mixed evening but made some big saves and a key pass that led to the tiebreaker for Memphis’ goal.
RB: Eric Garcia – 5/10 The experiment at Right back didn’t look to good, as he was dragged around a lot, leaving huge gaps in the right side of the pitch.
CB: Pique – 6.5/10 Made a shot-stopping effort but was caught out for the Villareal equaliser. Not the best of nights from the Spaniard.
CB: Araujo – 8/10 Was exceptional, as he made 2 interceptions, 5 tackles and 5 clearances. Araujo was clearly the diamond in the rough in Barca’s shaky backline. Top performance from the Uruguayan.
LB: Alba – 7/10 A quiet night from the Spanish fullback, as he did his job well defensively but going forward, he was silent, however he was influential in setting up the opener for Barça.
Midfield
CM: Nico – 6.5/10 The youngster’s run of form falters, as he couldn’t keep up in the midfield against Villarreal, clearly wasn’t his night to shine.
CDM: Busquets – 6.5/10 Like Nico, his run good run of form is up. Didn’t receive possession as much as he would’ve needed.
CM: De Jong – 8/10 A great night for the Dutchman vs Villarreal, as he scored the opener for Barça. Moreover, he created 3 goalscoring opportunities, especially a big chance to Memphis, in which he squandered.
Attack
RW: Abde – 6.5/10 Started the game as a spark in Barça’s attack, but a tactical blunder from Xavi, caused his energetic presence to fade away. Unfortunate night for him.
ST: Memphis – 7/10 Despite scoring a goal which broke the tie, Memphis wasn’t at his best, as of lately. He wasted two big chances. Memphis clearly needs to step up.
LW: Gavi – 6.5/10 His brilliance was captured by the Villareal defence, which minimised his impact on the game. A return to the midfield would greatly benefit him and the team.
Substitutes
Dembele – 5/10 Couldn’t help making an impact on the game, regardless of the win.
Coutinho – 7.5/10 Coutinho however got on the score sheet, as he converted a penalty, which should boost his confidence. It could be described as a game changing performance, but not really at the same time, yet his movements dragged the Villareal defence to help Memphis get into positions to score. An improvement let’s hope he can build on this.
Mingueza – 4/10 God knows what happened to Mingueza, but this run of form doesn’t look too good. His mistakes could have helped Villareal score.
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