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| Barça players celebrate goal vs Borussia Monchengladbach |
FC Barcelona continued their winning form in the 2016/2017 UEFA Champions League season after they defeated Borussia Monchengladbach 2-1 in Germany to go two points clear as table toppers of group C.
Barcelona survived a shocker at the Borussia Park on Wednesday night as they conceded the first goal of the night in the first half no thanks to Thorgan Hazard, however, Barça came back in the second half to win 2-1 courtesy of goals from substitute Arda Turan and defender Gerard Pique. It was not the best of performances by the Blaugrana but they got the three points, here is how the players fared in the game.
BORUSSIA MONCHENGLADBACH 1-2 BARCELONA – PLAYER RATINGS
MARC ANDRE TER STEGEN – 6.0
Wasn’t at fault for the goal in any way, didn’t do anything throughout the rest of the game as the Borussia Monchengladbach attackers lacked precision in the final third. His passing was good as always.
SERGI ROBERTO – 6.5
Didn’t get involved much in attack as the pace of the Borussia Monchengladbach players forced him to play more defensively. Played with good confidence and made a couple of darting runs. Not a bad game, but not an exceptional game either.
GERARD PIQUE – 7.5
Suffered in defence as he struggled to handle the pace of Raffael and Co, still was great, led it well. Was at the right place at the right time to give Barcelona the winning goal they were searching for. Good game overall.
JAVIER MASCHERANO – 8.0
Best performer of the evening. He was electric in defence and his tackling was beastly. Covered Pique’s blushes on two occasions and was near-perfect. Made some mistakes but corrected each one of them almost immediately, a very good game.
JORDI ALBA – 6.5
Tough game for the left back although his pace was crucial on occasions even though he could’ve ran a bit faster to stop Hazard’s goal. Had a great square ball to set up Neymar but the Brazilian denied him an assist by firing straight to the keeper.
IVAN RAKITIC – 6.0
His shot that went straight to Sommer was his only highlight of the game as he struggled to make an impact. Replaced by Arda Turan on the hour mark.
SERGIO BUSQUETS – 6.0
Was below par in the first half but stepped up a bit in the second half. His average performance was one the reasons Barça struggled. Gave away the ball recklessly for the Hazard goal. Not his best game.
ANDRES INIESTA – 6.5
Couldn’t create much but his great ball playing ability bossed the game for him. Great intelligence and also had a better second half. Still not his best game.
PACO ALCACER – 5.5
Still undergoing a tough learning process at Barça. Tried to get involved in the game but just couldn’t as playing alongside Luis Suarez didn’t work well, and he did little or nothing in the game. Was replaced by Rafinha in the second half.
LUIS SUAREZ – 7.0
Fought very hard during the game in both attack and defence and ended up being decisive as his shot was too powerful for Sommer, allowing Pique to score the winner off the rebound. Had chances to get goals but missed them. A good game overall.
NEYMAR – 7.5
His final ball let him down on so many occasions and he lost a lot of balls which almost overshadowed his lively performance. His second half was much better and appeared when needed the most by providing the assist for Arda Turan’s equalizer whilst also engineering Pique’s winner. A good game except for his misuse of the ball sometimes.
SUBSTITUTES…
Rafinha Alcantara – 6.5
It’s like Lucho has falling in love with the Brazilian as he features regularly nowadays. Came in for Paco Alcacer and added some oxygen and speed in attack for Barça.
ARDA TURAN – 8.0
Came in for Rakitic after the hour mark and immediately changed the game as he scored the equalizer five minutes later. Almost had a second for himself with an audacious lob but Sommer was on hand to tip the ball over. Was very lively, he’s having a very good season already.
LUIS ENRIQUE – 7.5
Didn’t start well as he used the wrong formation for the wrong game because the players looked like they didn’t know what they were doing. Gave his players the lecture at halftime and they improved after the break and his substitutions were spot on.
TEAM – 7.0
Not their best game, but they got the three points. Great urgency in the second half gave rewarded them with two goals..