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| Arda Turan celebrates goal against Hércules |
Barça were without MSN, Iniesta and Busquets on Wednesday but still put smiles in the faces of Culés as they gave them the best Christmas gift, winning their final game of 2016 in style after seeing off Copa del Rey round 32 opponents Hércules 7-0 in their second leg tie to qualify for the Round of 16 with an 8-1 aggregate win.
The star of the night was Arda Turan who bagged a treble in beautiful fashion while new signings Paco Alcácer and Lucas Digne got their first goals for the club. Rafinha Alcántara and Ivan Rakitic got the other goals, here’s how Barça players fared.
BARÇA 7-0 HÉRCULES PLAYER RATINGS
JASPER CILLESSEN – 6.5
Didn’t have to make a save, kept the cleen sheet and left with a neater shirt. His pass was key to the build up for a goal.
ALEIX VIDAL – 7.0
Was electric down the right once again although he had some bad moments giving the ball away too easily and making wrong crosses. His cross for Arda Turan’s first goal was perfect.
JAVIER MASCHERANO – 8.0
Was captain of the night and he played like it was a final. His leadership showed greatly and he was on hand to pull some really good tackles that were key to Barça’s clean sheet.
SAMUEL UMTITI – 6.5
Didn’t have too much work to do añin defence as Hércules posed little threat from his side. Was great with his passing and moving the team forward from the back.
LUCAS DIGNE – 7.5
Open the scoring after firing a chance wide. He was the boss on the left although his link up with Arda isn’t yet perfect. He was great in attack but was better in his defensive duties although he had little to do. Good performance.
IVAN RAKITIC – 6.5
Didn’t play with his normal strength but was a leader in midfield. Scored Barça’s second from the penalty spot. He didn’t do much.
ANDRÉ GOMES – 7.0
Started in defensive midfield once again and did well. He controlled the game and almost never gave the ball away, his positioning improved and so did his switching of plays.
DENIS SUÁREZ – 8.0
One of the best performers in the game although he slowed down as the game went on. Almost scored a wonderful solo goal in the first half. He showed great technique on many occasions and he’s been quite good this season.
RAFINHA ALCÁNTARA – 8.0
Fantastic performance in that right-wing role. Worked really hard and showed great skill. Was involved in at least three of the goals including the one he got for himself via a powerful drive from the edge of the box. Good performance.
PACO ALCÁCER – 7.0
Almost looked like he will never score his first goal for the club but he fought hard and got his reward on the 73rd minute when he headed past Hércules goalkeeper. Was instrumental to Arda’s second goal as his fine header which was well saved created a chance for Turan’s rebound. A relief!
ARDA TURAN – 9.0
Man of the Match because why not? He Scored a hat-trick even though the game had already been decided, his third goal was a beauty. He was also instrumental to three other goals engineering the attacks for Paco’s, Rafinha’s and Digne’s goal. Great performance.
LUIS ENRIQUE – 8.5
Started the best possible lineup, did well to motivate his team from the bench.. good stuff.
THE TEAM – 9.0
They never gave up despite a dry first 30 minutes.. kept possession well and obviously scored 7 goals.
