A five star performance from FC Barcelona
FC Barcelona – Villareal - Laliga Game Analysis – May 9, 2018
After all the exertions of a tumultuous Clasico, FC
Barcelona took on the yellow Submarine – Villareal at the Camp Nou in the mid-week
game. It was a comparatively subdued atmosphere. Villareal and Sevilla are
involved in the fight for the final place for the Europa league and this was an
important fixture for Villareal who were 6th in the league table at
the start of the game. Barca looked to maintain their unbeaten record in Laliga
intact. Valverde made a number of changes as Cillessen, Semedo, Vermaelen,
Digne, Paulinho and Dembele were as part of the Barca starting 11.
While Barcelona saw more of the ball, Villareal defended
deep. Barcelona did make a few inroads up front, but without much success.
Semedo and Demebele were combining on the right while Digne, Iniesta and
Coutinho took care of the attacks from the left. After about 20 minutes of
play, came the first goal. Dembele made an incredible run bursting past 3
defenders and took a shot at the goal. It was parried off by the goalkeeper
Asenjo, but the spilt ball latched on by the quick Countinho who gave
Barcelona the lead with a good finish.
Villareal started to assert themselves. A fine strike
from Fornals forced a fantastic save from Cillessen, who was not tested till
then. Villareal did have more possession but
they lacked the finish. It was time for
some Iniesta magic. He gave a wonderful pass to Digne who teed off Paulinho
with a perfect cross. For once Paulinho made no mistake and tapped it in.
Barcelona were up 2-0.
Barcelona came up with more attacks but the defenders of
Villareal were up to the task. Then came a vintage Barcelona move that would
never be witnessed after this season. Messi after a quick one two with Iniesta,
rushed forward. With perfect anticipation, Iniesta made a delectable lob over
the crowd of defenders to find his little partner and Messi scored with a
fabulous volley to make it 3-0 at halftime.
Messi managed to return in kind to Iniesta with a sweet
pass, but the veteran shot it wide. Barcelona ambled along with occasional moves
forward while Villareal tried their best to keep the ball and counter attack
whenever possible. Through sheer luck, Villareal
managed to score, as the shot of Sansone
deflected off his teammate and found the net to make it 3-1.
By the hour mark, Luis Suarez came in for Iniesta and for
the penultimate time, Iniesta walked out of the Camp Nou amidst thunderous
applause. Rakitic came in for an obviously tired Busquets. With 10 minutes to
go, Pique was substituted and Yerry Mina was in.
As the game moved towards its final minutes, Rakitic made
a fabulous run forward beating a number of defenders and laid a delightful pass
to Dembele and the Frenchman scored his first of the night. Towards the fag
end, Yerry Mina gave a good pass to Dembele who darted forward and finished
with elan to make it 5-1 for FC Barcelona.
Analysis:
Barcelona were laid back and happy to let the opposition have
the ball, but they were extremely efficient in their finishing. It was as if Villareal were smoothly sliced apart whenever Barca
attacked. It was a good outing for the newcomers like Dembele, Coutinho, Semedo and Yerry Mina - but they all need to improve.
Yes – Dembele and Semedo are a great option on the right
and they should be played more often. But the young Dembele needs to improve on
his tactical awareness and the ability to hold on to the ball. He was inconsistent, swinging between brilliant and mediocre Similarly Semedo
lacked that final touch while going forward. The two gave away, way too many
balls, but a toothless Villareal couldn’t make Barca pay. Similarly Digne was
okay moving forward, but his defending left a lot to be desired. He lacked the physicality
and was often overrun by the Villareal flanks.
Countinho should always play on the right side. He was very
effective in this game. But he lacked the power to go past the burly defenders
and seem to run out of steam. He needs to improve his stamina and strength otherwise,
it would be better to substitute him after 60 minutes. In fact Sergi Roberto
and Denis Suarez could be used, alternately, in his position.
Vermaelen, who was brought in for Umtiti, was fantastic. It’s
a terrible injustice to keep this talented Belgian on the bench. Yerry Mina was
impressive in his 10 minute cameo and he needs to be used regularly. He could also
be a good scoring option from set pieces for Barcelona. Cillessen had a good outing and was confident. He
also needs more playing time. In short, Valverde should rotate his defenders more often.
After all the
exertions of the Clasico, how the hell Messi, Iniesta, Pique and Busquets
managed to play so well in this game? Pique and Busquets went about their tasks with their usual efficiency. Messi was quietly effective and the way he combined with
Iniesta was a treat to watch. Andres Iniesta had been wonderful and at his
brilliant best. Every time he does something sublime on the field, tears well
up, thinking that it would all end with two more games.
Villareal badly need a couple of good strikers to be more
effective. As of now, Sevilla are looking to catch up with them for that 6th
spot, as they managed to beat a 2nd string Real Madrid.
It was wonderful to see, a no fuss, Villareal, give a well-deserved guard of honour to their league Champions.
Another lovely gesture was the gifting of a little yellow
submarine to the departing Iniesta by the Villareal Captain.
Finally, FC Barcelona paid a sweet tribute to Mothers on the occasion of Mother’s day with all the Barca players sporting Jerseys with the name of their mother on it.
Hats off!! Forca Barca.
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