In this column, Xoel Càrdenas gives you his take on FC Barcelona's 2-0 win over Getafe of Saturday night. Goals from Luis Suarez and Neymar with two lovely assists by Sergi Roberto.
MADRID — FC Barcelona had a complete match in Madrid, as El Blaugrana defeated Getafe 2-0 on Saturday night, and stayed on pace atop the La Liga table.
Munir nearly started the scoring in the opening minute, as a great play by Neymar set up the kid, but Munir's acrobatic attempt was unsuccessful. Gerard Pique continued to get booed every time he touched the ball, as the Madrid citizens obviously are not fans of Gerard's "beliefs", to say the least. Getafe had its first good chance in the 12th minute, but Getafe's Scepovic's shot missed.
Sergi Roberto returned to the pitch on Saturday, and got into the action even further when his header was easily saved in the 14th minute. In the 25th minute, a Sergio Busquets pass to Luis Suarez was wrongly called offside. The replay clearly showed Suarez was onside and the play more than likely would have ended in a Barcelona goal. Suarez with a chance missed in the 27th minute, with another Neymar play to setup the chance.
In the 37th minute, Suarez got the scoring started for Barcelona, as Neymar started the run, sent the ball toward the top of the box for Sergi Roberto, who then back-heeled it forward to Suarez and Luisito finished beautifully for the golazo. Simply one of the most beautiful Barcelona goals in recent memory.
STUNNING ROBERTO 0-1 http://pic.twitter.com/0XXMNWEYAi
— Goal Digger (@FCBGoalDigger) October 31, 2015
Espectacular la asistencia de Sergi Roberto http://pic.twitter.com/AVL8rkUYcv
— FCB (@Emenderk) October 31, 2015
Taconazo de Sergi Roberto y gol de Luisito #genius http://pic.twitter.com/58clgUGjBM
— FCB (@Emenderk) October 31, 2015
In the second half, Neymar gave Barcelona another goal in the 58th minute, as a spectacular assist by the great Sergi Roberto found Neymar and the Brazilian slammed in the golazo! Tremendous by both Neymar and Sergi Roberto.
Gif: Neymar (0-2) http://pic.twitter.com/mutWxwcJf6
— barcastuff (@barcastuff) October 31, 2015
Andres Iniesta returned to the pitch in the second half. Jordi Alba nearly had the third Barcelona goal in the 75th minute, as once again Neymar distributed a lovely pass to a teammate, but Alba was denied by Getafe goalkeeper Vicente Guaita.
FT: Getafe 0-2 FC Barcelona
Xoel's Take
Sergio Busquets had a terrific match against Getafe. Busi was everywhere to intercept Getafe passes, set-up Barca teammates, and overall just dominate in the midfield. Busi had 93/97 passing success rate. That's why he's the best in the world at the position, period. As Getafe manager Fran Escriba said after the match, "I have a weak spot for Busquets. He does everything right."
What can we say about Sergi Roberto. The kid has been one of the best and most important players for this team this season. I said jokingly on Twitter that Dani Alves should give the #6 kit number to Sergi. I'm no longer kidding. The Sergi Roberto Renaissance has been one of the most amazing storylines in all of world football this season. For too long, he was a punch line, at times. Now, no one is mocking his name anymore. Sergi Roberto is a terrific footballer who stayed patient, waited for his time to come, and is now showing the football world his talents.
Gracias, @SergiRoberto10 , for staying at Barcelona, being patient, and showing all of us your football brilliance when the time was right.
— Xoel (@XoelCardenas) October 31, 2015
Neymar was once again brilliant. The Brazilian dominated the Getafe defenders, making them looking foolish on several occasions. It's comforting to know that Barcelona can now consistently count on Neymar to take over the "Messi role" whenever Lionel is out. All the credit goes to Neymar for maturing and, naturally, growing as an overall footballer. According to Squawka Football, Neymar has been directly involved in 12 of Barcelona's last 13 goals in all comps.
http://pic.twitter.com/icIhIqq8JA
— A7 (@FCBarcelona_A7) October 31, 2015
Luis Suarez picked up a goal against Getafe, and with said goal, Suarez picked up goal number 300 of his career. Felicitats Luis! Neymar and Suarez have now scored Barcelona's last 14 goals in La Liga.
Barcelona's last 14 La Liga goals: Neymar Suarez Suarez Neymar Neymar Neymar Neymar Neymar Suarez Suarez Suarez Suarez Suarez Neymar
— TheODDSbible (@TheOddsBible) October 31, 2015
What we're seeing from Neymar, Suarez and the rest of FC Barcelona since Lionel Messi went out with his injury is — hopefully — the final nail in the "Messidependencia" coffin. Yes, when Messi is on the pitch, he dictates (get it?) much of how his teammates move and perform in a match. But since Leo's been out, Neymar has become the key creator of plays and Suarez has recently become more consistent. Sergi Roberto has been stellar all season long, and when Leo went out, Roberto continued/continues to shine. Ivan Rakitic is getting back to form after starting the season a bit off his game. Other players have stepped up in moments as well. While players like Dani Alves, Munir, Sandro and Gerard Pique haven't been as consistent as others — or consistent at all — the team has enough of its players who are stepping up and showing this team is now back to championship-playing level.
Leo Messi will always be the key figure at FC Barcelona until the day he retires, and we all love Leo and need him back soon. But we're now seeing the end of Messidependencia. It began to die last season, and with the maturity of Neymar and regained consistency of Luis Suarez, it's finally coming to an end.
A win, three points, a shutout, Neymar and Suarez scoring goals, and the returns of Andrés Iniesta and Sergi Roberto. Overall, a great night for FC Barcelona.
Xoel
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