FC Barcelona played Levante on Sunday in the Camp Nou, and won comfortably. Messi bagged a hat trick, Neymar scored a goal, and Suarez finished the game with a superb bicycle goal. Here are some observations from the game.
Marc Bartra has excellent anticipation and passing
Barca's second goal of the day came from an exceptional interception by Bartra, who played the through ball to Messi. This is not the first time Bartra has shown such skills. Against Elche, Bartra got the ball, and then put in a brilliant ball towards Messi. Marc is your typical Barca centre-back, and he knows what is expected of him. He must be able to play the ball out from the back in high stress situations. He seems to revel in this type of play. He will be putting in his bid for the starting position at the back.
It might be a long shot, but I would like to see Marc try out the defensive midfield position. It would prove to be an interesting experiment.
Barca has good depth
None of the back four who played against Villarreal started today. Bartra, Martin Montoya, Adriano Correia, and Javier Mascherano all played in the back four, and while Masche played the last game, he didn't play CB. We also haven't even mentioned Thomas Vermaelen, who has yet to make his debut for the first team. In fact, only three players from last game started; they were: Messi, Neymar, and Mascherano. Claudio Bravo was back in goal, replacing Marc-Andre Ter Stegen; while Pedro replaced Luis Suarez upfront; and Xavi came back into the side, filling in for a sick Andres Iniesta. Rotation will be an outright must if we are to keep players fresh for the business end of the season. Lucho seems to getting his rotations absolutely spot on.
The Messi and Neymar partnership continues to be lethal
I'm saying this as if the world didn't know already. But Neymar and Messi continue to link up brilliantly, tearing opposing defenses to shreds with their mental understanding. Between the two of them, they have scored 61 goals this season, in all competitions. With both of them dishing out goals left and right, Barca doesn't appear to have any problems getting on the score sheet. Since Neymar prefers the left side of the attacking trident, and Messi loves cutting in onto his left foot, we will likely see the Messi Neymar combination time and time again, with it having lethal consequences for the opposing team.
Lucho could take this a bit further in training and make them practice their plays, almost like rehearsed set pieces, only from open play during games.
Pedro had a brilliant game
With so much talk of Barca's lethal attacking trident, it could be easy for Cules to forget about Pedro. He had a brilliant game today, and was unfortunate not to get on the score sheet. His intelligent runs, good ball control, and all around trickery made him a thorn in Levante's side all game. Not only that, Pedro has a phenomenal work rate. He tracked back countless times, helping out in defense, and also pressured up high, even catching the opposing goalkeeper in possession forcing a corner. Pedro is also a proven goal scorer and has 10 goals this season. With important games coming up, Pedrito could prove to be invaluable, covering for any payer that needs rest.
Important starters have been rested
Eight players were changed from midweek against Villarreal. Jordi Alba, Gerard Pique, Jeremy Mathieu, Dani Alves, Suarez, and Iniesta were all rested against Levante. Barca has a rare week off this next week, which will also help with resting first team players like Messi. With a crucial game against Manchester City coming up in the Champions League, Lucho will try to rest as many players as he possibly can to have them fresh in the next two weeks.
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