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| Barcelona celebrate Spanish Super Cup victory |
FC Barcelona secured their first trophy of the 2018/2019 season as goals from Gerard Pique and Ousmane Dembele meant the Catalans beat rivals Sevilla 2-1 to lift the Spanish Super Cup. After a mixed display by Ernesto Valverde’s men, here’s how Soccernet rates the Barcelona players after an intense game in Tangier.
Marc-Andre Ter Stegen – 7.5: Had a great game. Could do nothing to stop Sarabia’s goal but stopped him later on with a fantastic save. Looked shaky at times but didn’t crash. Conceded a penalty and picked up a yellow for it but fixed immediately as he saved the spot kick.
Nelson Semedo – 7.0: Very lively in the game. Did well when he pushed forward and he looked confident to try out stuff. Lost the ball on a couple of occasions but overall a good display.
Gerard Pique – 7.5: Was spun by Muriel in the build-up to the first goal but overall he was good. Great anticipation, made good clearances and coordinated the defence well. Got the equaliser for Barca.
Lenglet – 6.5: Not a bad display but not a perfect one. His passing and control were the main takeaways as they were really good. Defending was a bit nervy but he seemed to handle much of the pressure most of the time.
Jordi Alba – 7.0: A very intense game for the left-back who had a lot to do to keep Sevilla’s pacey right flank in check. Was very crucial in defence and did a little less attacking than usual.
Rafinha – 6.0: Started in midfield over Rakitic and he didn’t do bad. But wasn’t as sharp and lethal as he was during preseason maybe because he wasn’t on the wing this time. Subbed off for Rakitic at halftime.
Busquets – 7.0: Rarely plays bad. Although he wasn’t in his beastly mode, he calmed the ball down on occasions that looked to be stirred up against Barca. Sometimes outdone by the pace of Sevilla attack but coped well.
Arthur Melo – 7.0: Played 52 minutes before being replaced by Coutinho. Looked cool with the ball at his feet but he seemed too simple which put a comma on his creative skills. Should move more and make daring passes at times.
Ousmane Dembele – 8.5: A surprise starter and he made the most out of hit. Looked dangerous most of the time and tested the Sevilla goalkeeper in the second half before firing a bullet from outside the box to give Barca the win. A wonderful display and a sign of things to come.
Luis Suarez – 5.0: Not the best display from the Uruguay international. He was totally off form, ruined a lot of attacks although some of his touches were good. Hope he improves.
Lionel Messi – 8.5: Looked like the only threat for Barca in the first half and he bossed this game without breaking a sweat. His freekick led to Barca’s opener and he got the assist for the winner. Was also denied by the keeper and had some really fine passes. Great game.
SUBSTITUTES
Philippe Coutinho – 7.0: Came on for Arthur in the second half and provided more attacking threat for Barcelona. Overall a great game.
Rakitic – 6.5: Took a little burden off Busquets after coming on, especially defensively. Had some plays made out of poor decisions but did more great than bad.
Arturo Vidal – N/A: Came on for Dembele late on and didn’t touch the ball much.