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| Barca players celebrate vs Valladolid |
Valladolid player Keko took his shirt off and sprung tears of joy when he though he’d given his side the equaliser against Barca on the 93rd minute, but VAR came in the Blaugrana’s favour and took off the goal correctly ruling it out for offside hence giving Barca a 1-0 win in a not-so-good display. Here’s how the Barca players fared in the game.
MARC-ANDRE TER STEGEN: 8.0
Keeps proving week in week out why he’s one of the best goalkeepers in the world. Did well to make a fantastic stop to deny Unal after 7 minutes. Had great positioning to make easy saves on a couple of headers and anticipated well to prevent danger for his team. Good game
SERGI ROBERTO: 8.0
Was fantastic on the right and this just proves that he’s a better right-hand than a midfielder. Provided the assist for Dembele goal and was really active. However, his wing was exploited by the Valladolid attack.
GERARD PIQUE: 6.5
Had some really bad moments where he mistimed his kick which almost put Barca in danger but he was overall great defensively.
SAMUEL UMTITI: 6.5
Just like Pique, he had his bad moments but overall put up a good display. Made a fantastic clearance late on when Valladolid were piling up the pressure.
JORDI ALBA: 7.5
Was fantastic on the left flank wand was absolutely splendid in defence as he put a lot of Valladolid counter attacks to a halt. Had a very great game overall.
IVAN RAKITIC: 5.5
Couldn’t keep up to the pace of the game and the bad pitch really affected him. Didn’t do much to help his side. Not a very good display.
SERGIO BUSQUETS: 6.5
Made some nice moves in midfield and tried a couple of passes which didn’t work. Was caught off guard on occasions. Still yet to hit top form.
PHILIPPE COUTINHO: 7.0
Was handed the start and he didn’t do bad. Set up Suarez with a nice pass but the Uruguay international couldn’t score. Didn’t have space to try one of his trademark shots but got one which was greatly saved by Masip.
LIONEL MESSI: 6.0
What’s funny is he had a couple of mind-blowing moments but by his standards, this wasn’t a good performance. Lost the ball a lot of times than normal, the pitch and Valladolid disciplined marking halted him.
LUIS SUAREZ: 5.0
Barcelona’s worst performer for the second game running. He’s on a really bad form. Had a chance saved by Masip and he scored but it was ruled out for offside.
OUSMANE DEMBELE: 8.5
Man of the Match. Knew the pitch was a mess so he didn’t try to dribble in much but he made a couple of crosses. Had three promising efforts which weren’t on target but finally got the goal which turned out to be the winner through a right-footed finish. Great game.
SUBSTITUTES…
ARTURO VIDAL: 6.0
Replaced Ousmane Dembele with 15 minutes left to play and didn’t do much. Almost set up Malcom for the 2-0
MALCOM: 5.5
Came on for Coutinho and played less than 10 minutes. Had a chance to seal the win but his shot was well saved by Masip.
MUNIR: N/A
Replaced Suarez late on and I don’t know if he even had a touch to the ball.
