LEONIDAS OF THE MATCH!
Barcelona escaped Germany with a very important 2-1 victory against Borussia Mönchengladbach, which puts the Blaugrana in the top spot of Group C in the Champions League after two matches. It wasn't a vintage performance by any means, but the Catalans fought hard and earned three huge points.
These are our ratings for the thirteen players that took part on Wednesday's win:
Starters
Ter Stegen (7) - Couldn't do anything in Thorgan Hazard's goal, and was solid in buildup play when requested to pass in the second half. Solid game from MATS.
Sergi Roberto (6) - Not his best game, but nothing bad either. Couldn't run forward as much as he wanted too, but did his job defensively and held his own.
Piqué (8) - Geri is incredible, and was again on Wednesday. Couldn't do anything on the goal, scored the game-winner and did a great job defensively.
Mascherano (7) - Masche's anticipation skills are great, but sometimes he does it too much and opens up space for the opponent, which happened a couple of times. He was good, though, and his yellow card was ironically the highlight of his performance, because it stopped a very dangerous attack and settled the defense.
Alba (6) - Same as Roberto, had to defend a lot more than he wanted to but did it nicely. His best game is going forward, but he couldn't so he didn't have too much of an impact.
Busquets (5.5) - Surprisingly poor game from Busi, thanks in part to an insane pressure from the Gladbach attackers. Pressing Sergio to try and force him into a mistake was the clear plan from Andre Schubert, and it was exactly what led to Gladbach's goal. Busi's passing wasn't as sharp and he wasn't great defensively.
Rakitic (5) - Rakitic was very bad, in almost all aspects. His passing was poor, his transition left a lot to be desired, and his involvement in attack came down to poor long distance shots. The team improved without him, which is a worrying sign.
Iniesta (6) - Not bad, not good, not amazing, not horrible. Just a discrete performance from the captain, something he won't remember but nothing garbage either. Iniesta was just kind of there.
Paco Alcácer (5) - He's learning the style, he's trying really hard, but it's too early for Paco to have any kind of impact. He needs time more than any of the new signings because the job of a Barça forward is very different from any other team's forward. He'll get better, but he was bad on Wednesday.
Suárez (7) - Was directly involved in the second goal, and did the thing that the stats don't count: effort. Luisito didn't score but worked his butt off, which was important to the win.
Neymar (7) - Fantastic assist to Arda Turan, great cross into Suárez that led to the second goal. Quiet for the rest of the game, but involved in both goals to win the game. That's a decisive player, people.
Substitutes
Rafinha (6.5) - Much better than Paco, worked hard, but did nothing really special. But the team was better with him, so it counts.
Arda Turan (8) - Is this really Arda Turan? The guy who couldn't be a midfielder three months ago is now perhaps the most in-form player in that position, and he continues to score goals and affect games in various ways. Arda has arrived, which is fantastic news.
Luis Enrique (8) - It's easy to blame him for playing Paco, but he couldn't anticipate such a bad game from Alcácer. His two substitutions were important and one of them scored to bring the team back into the game, and the locker room talk clearly led to a better performance in the second half. That's the coach's impact, definitely.
The Team (6.5) - Very, very, very subpar performance, but it was a win against a team that was literally undefeated in their home for the last several months. It was a win of heart more than brain, but it was a win anyway.
Man of the Match: Arda Turan (2nd: Gerard Piqué)
Do you agree with our ratings? What are yours? Comment away!
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