Not exactly a vintage win, but a big win!
Barcelona beat Valencia in a fantastic La Liga match on Saturday, and because of the weekend's results, the Blaugrana climb one place in the league table and remain just two points behind now leaders Real Madrid.
The win at the Mestalla could prove to be fundamental at the end of the season, and even though it was fantastic because of the circumstances, it wasn't a vintage Barça win, which is reflected in our player ratings:
Marc-André Ter Stegen: 7.0 (Community rating: 7.5)
Fantastic save in the first half, couldn't do anything in both goals, was very good with his passing again. MATS is for real.
Sergi Roberto: 6.0 (Community rating: 6.5)
Solid performance for 90 minutes, but not quite good enough to influence the game in a positive way.
Javier Mascherano 5.0 (Community rating: 6.0)
Should have done a better job as the most experienced player in the back four. Sloppy with his passing at times, slow in anticipating, a few positional errors. Not a good game.
Samuel Umtiti: 5.5 (Community rating: 7.0)
Going to the Mestalla in your first game without Gerard Piqué is not good, and Sammy felt it a little bit. Was lucky to not be guilty of a penalty in the first half, and seemed a little lost at times.
Lucas Digne: 6.0 (Community rating: 6.5)
Solid game, but could have done more. He's always solid, though, and that's very good news for a backup player.
Sergio Busquets: 5.0 (Community rating: 6.0)
Should have been sent off in the first half, and was subpar throughout the game. Bad Busi flashback.
André Gomes: 4.5 (Community rating: 6.0)
A combination of the return to Mestalla and the added pressure to create more after Iniesta's injury led to a poor game from the Portuguese. A rare one, though.
Andrés Iniesta: 10.0 (Community rating: 10.0)
Get well soon, Don.
Lionel Messi: 9.0 (Community rating: 9.0)
Needs no description.
Luis Suárez: 7.5 (Community rating: 7.5)
Scored the equalizer just five minutes after Valencia's second, which was huge to help calm down the rest of the team. Also won the penalty that won the game.
Neymar: 7.0 (Community rating: 8.0)
The quieter of the MSN trio, but was the best player on the pitch for a 15-minute stretch at the end of the first half, playing a phenomenal ball to Suárez in the process. Also took part in the play that led to the game-winning penalty. Nice job.
Substitutes
Ivan Rakitic: 7.0 (Community rating: 7.5)
Worked his butt off to replace Iniesta, gave an assist, defended well, supported the attack. Solid game.
Denis Suarez: 6.5 (Community rating: 6.5)
Provided very good width on the right side to free Messi to roam around midfield. Seems like a small thing, but the play that leads to the penalty doesn't happen if Messi isn't in the middle with a passing option to his right that created doubts on Valencia's minds.
*****
The Team: 6.0 (Community rating: 7.5)
Definitely not a good performance, but the fighting spirit and the attitude were impressive. Winning despite playing badly is very important sometimes, and Barça did just that.
Luis Enrique: 7.0 (Community rating: 7.0)
Good substitutions, but this win is mostly due to the players, not the game plan.
Man of the Match: Lionel Messi (Community vote: Messi - 89%)
Not a doubt here. Leo is Leo.
Agree with our ratings? Disagree? Comment away!
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