FC Barcelona played Valencia in the Camp Nou and won 2-0. Here are a few observations.
Champions League hangover
Barça seemed off in this game. Valencia’s high pressure and our lazy passing lead to dreadful mistakes. Valencia created chance after chance, and kindly decided not to put any in the back of the net. Three days earlier, Barça were in the French capital defeating PSG in the Champions League. One must keep in mind that the players are human and constant traveling, and playing plays on these players’ physicality and mentality. Simply put, the display was forgivable. But Barça must also keep in mind that if these displays continue, then we will lose everything we’ve worked hard for this season.
Barça's first half horror show had a lot to do with formations
The double pivot is designed for teams that play defensively and frequently counterattack. By playing a 4-2-3-1 formation, Lucho allowed for two things: first, Valencia would control the tempo. This was very evident in the first half. Valencia played how Barça should have played, and we mostly defended. The second circumstance allowed by our formation, was that we showed Valencia that came out to defend. With two defensive midfielders, Barça had much less control than we usually do. This could be noted when Lucho made a change by bringing on Rakitic, which resulted in a better performance.
Rakitic brings calm
Much to the Camp Nou's surprise, Valencia dominated the first half. They carved Barça open with impunity time and time again. Despite this, Valencia buried none of their chances, even having a penalty saved by Claudio Bravo. At half time, Lucho made the change that probably decided the match. Rakitic came in for Adriano, and Jeremy Mathieu moved out to the left back spot. The substitution immediately brought calmness in Barça’s play, which resulted in Barça controlling the game, thus allowing Barça to keep a clean sheet.
Messi reaches 400
Messi is a club legend. Today he reached a milestone that most players in the world can only dream of reaching. With his goal today, Messi now has four hundred goals for FC Barcelona. Barça all-time top scorer wasn’t at his best today, but still managed to assist a goal and score one. Hopefully we will see Messi score four hundred more.
Congrats D10S!
Valencia has a bright future
Valencia is past their dark past, and traveling towards a bright future spearheaded by Peter Lim. Over the past Decade, Valencia has had crippling debt. So much so that their Nou Mestalla, a stadium they had planned for construction, currently sits half built. All of the great players that Valencia has had these past ten years have usually been sold to bigger clubs. Not anymore. Change is coming to Valencia. Peter Lim’s purchase of the club has resulted in a steady cash flow. Valencia is now making a comeback to La Liga. Expect them to start challenging for the title in the coming years.
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