Neymar and Roberto: Barca’s young gen takes charge

-By Sagar

It took a while for Barca to find it’s feet this season, and when they almost did, Messi was sidelined. Barca were in ‘survival’ mode and had to build up momentum for when the El Clasico comes up and Messi might not be available. Neymar was thrust into the spotlight as the player who is supposed to shoulder the responsibility in the absence of Messi. He proved he was more than capable of it in the last few fixtures, but in this, he left no room for doubt.

It was Neymar’s show from the get go. As early as the 2nd minute of the match saw Neymar and Suarez combining to create a half chance on goal. The signs were there. The ball inevitably found it’s way to the left side of the field throughout the match, to the legs of Neymar. The defenders had no answer to his trickery and pace. It’s been an open secret for a while that Neymar makes a meal out of his challenges, and hence going hard at him might see one escape any punishment, but today the defenders failed at that too, as Neymar almost always left the defenders flat on the ground. Even the ones who tried going in with hard tackles.

It’s one thing to beat your opponents, quite another to dominate them like Neymar did.

With 81% pass accuracy,

3 key passes ,

6 dribbles and,

1 goal

He had a complete game against Getafe.

But more importantly it was how he moved around the pitch. He moved more towards the center as he controlled the game and always looked to create at least half a chance with every attack.



But, complimenting him perfectly from the midfield were two unsung personalities. Busquets and Sergi Roberto.

Messi was out, and soon Iniesta followed him (Although he was back for this fixture, he was just coming off injury), and who was to control and maintain possession in the midfield? Rakitic was no slouch but that was not one of his positives. Busquets stepped up, and although he didn’t perform well with Mascherano around (he would move up the field with him around), he moved back to his CDM position and dictated play from there. His distribution was unparalleled. With a total of 97 passes, he maintained 97% accuracy, whilst trying to feed the attack. Immaculate.

The other midfielder who was criticized (I confess, I was one of them) for his lack of creativity in the midfield last season, and the lack of impact, stepped up. Sergi Roberto. He didn’t just step up, he puffed out and announced himself. He has been a revelation at the RB position this season, and although he put in above-average performances in the midfield position, his performances at RB eclipsed it.

The irony of it all is, his creativity and instincts were key to breaking Getafe’s defense.

He is fast becoming indispensible to Barca as one of the best ‘utility’ players in the league.

His 2 assists today was just the icing on the cake.



The 1st goal was pure instinctual, and the power of ‘muscle memory’ in all it’s glory, as Neymar’s cross somehow made it to Roberto who wasn’t ready for it, but improvised a back-heel pass. Suarez collected it in an awkward position, but before anyone knew it, he slotted it at the near post. All in the blink of an eye.

The second one was an all-out counter attack, where the whole Barca team played as one. From Bravo’s throw, to Roberto’s run, to Alves pulling a defender with his run, to a perfect cross, to a perfect finish from Neymar.

Although Suarez was inconsistent with his touches and finishes today, he made it count when it mattered. Alba and Mathieu were impregnable on the left, and Alves was a little slow in his lane, which led to a lot of the opposition’s attack coming in from the right. Rakitic went about his job without any fuss, and Iniesta got a nice run out in the final 30 minutes.

Barca seem to have perfected their plan to cope without Messi. The new control tower is here, ready to take over at a moment’s notice. He’s not just effective, he’s enjoying the responsibilities.

‘Messidependencia’ is dealt with? The next league fixture, against Villareal, is the final test.

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Barca:

Best: Neymar (A): If Messi leaves you stupefied before one realizes what happened, Neymar announces himself and beats you with flair. He is all spark and fireworks. He is the MotM, and definitely the new control tower of Barca.

Questionable display: Munir (C-): He was non-existent in attack and could not find his feet in the match, but he did track back to try and add an extra body in defense. Covered for Alves more than once, but that’s about it.

Getafe:

Best: Victor Rodriguez (B): How much can one try and be dangerous while being isolated upfront? The whole team sat back hoping to hit on counter, but the situation arose few and far in between. But, when they did he did do more than others.

Questionable display: Vergini (D): Being the central defender on the left side, he had to deal with Neymar cutting in, and an occasional Suarez run. He could not deal with any of them and didn’t come out to press or challenge, leaving Barca with little pockets of space in front of the goal.

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