The ugly side of the Best

-By Sagar Follow @Sagar_m10

Contrary to popular belief, many expected a rather comfortable fixture this time around. What with the slump that Valencia were in, and with no set manager. People tend to forget, that this is the Mestalla.

Here, the games are tough, rough, and tend to get ugly. And, so it was.

Barca fielded their strongest line-up, and Valencia were far from it, and so went with a very firm, solid 5-4-1 formation, so as to close down Barca and force them to go out wide. It worked for the most part.

Although they were carved open repeatedly, they did not let it affect them on a mental level as they kept at it. Kept their line, put bodies in the box and frustrated the Barca players. Especially the MSN.

Valencia- win or bust?

They packed the defense and the midfield. They were ready to fight for a point. The first half saw their plans dismantled as MSN ran right through their defense on many occasions, but they were never punished as the final ball kept missing the goal by a few inches, and in some cases few yards, thanks to some poor finishing.

The second half saw some solidarity and discipline return to the side, and once again continued to frustrate Barca. They did concede a goal, but that was down to MSN.

In hindsight their gameplan worked, but in actuality it did not fare well, and they were lucky in some instances.

They packed the defense and the midfield. They were ready to fight for a point. The first half saw their plans dismantled as MSN ran right through their defense on many occasions, but they were never punished as the final ball kept missing the goal by a few inches, and in some cases few yards, thanks to some poor finishing. The second half saw some solidarity and discipline return to the side, and once again continued to frustrate Barca. They did concede a goal, but that was down to MSN. In hindsight their gameplan worked, but in actuality it did not fare well, and they were lucky in some instances. The fullbacks:



Alves and Alba brought their A-game. From their offensive contributions to the defensive ones, they never looked out of place or troubled. Normally when one fullback goes up front, the other one loiters around in the midfield so they can add another body to the midfield, and can help press effectively.

This time around they chose their moments to make runs forward, and one fullback stayed back, because of Valencia’s game-plan. The counter-attack. Did this backfire on Barca? Not exactly. It worked wonders throughout the match. Alba, especially, has perfected the art of defending by using pace to his advantage. Height or no height. The one time they did not stick to this plan, Barca conceded. Alba was up front, Alves in his half-midfield position, leaving Pique and Masch to deal with a swift long ball which caught Barca flat-footed.

All in all, the fullbacks put in an excellent performance.

Alves and Alba brought their A-game. From their offensive contributions to the defensive ones, they never looked out of place or troubled. Normally when one fullback goes up front, the other one loiters around in the midfield so they can add another body to the midfield, and can help press effectively. This time around they chose their moments to make runs forward, and one fullback stayed back, because of Valencia’s game-plan. The counter-attack. Did this backfire on Barca? Not exactly. It worked wonders throughout the match. Alba, especially, has perfected the art of defending by using pace to his advantage. Height or no height. The one time they did not stick to this plan, Barca conceded. Alba was up front, Alves in his half-midfield position, leaving Pique and Masch to deal with a swift long ball which caught Barca flat-footed. All in all, the fullbacks put in an excellent performance. The ugly side of MSN:





Let’s deal with the elephant in the room. Messi was poor by his standards. He looked right down, human. Finishing was poor, got crowded out, and always found a body blocking his shot. The one time there was no one around; he blasted it above the crossbar.

Suarez had a frustrating game as he just could not create space for himself, which he normally does with his turns. His turns were poorly executed today. He could not get the timing right, and that frustration brought out the ‘bad’ Suarez. The one who got into players’ faces and tried to find a release for that pent up frustration.

Neymar was the spark that kept chances coming along. He was guilty of missing a one-on-one with the GK, but he more than made up for it by supplying chances like on a conveyor belt, and they were all scuffed. He too was the victim of constant harrying, and succumbed to making rash challenges. MSN clearly were not enjoying their day out.

Despite all this criticism about their finishing, they got a goal. Despite them not wearing their shooting boots, they created chances. Despite not enjoying, they dug out a goal in the midst of that congregation of players in that tiny box.

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The defense was composed and solid, until that one point where they were caught sleeping and flat-footed. Valencia took their chance.

Busquets controlled the tempo of the entire game. He slowed down the game when he wanted, and sped it up when he wanted. Iniesta was that calm presence in attack, as he made sure the ball kept moving. His runs were acute and always had a purpose to them.

If Valencia came out to play for a draw they were underestimating themselves and their home ground. The Mestalla is never an easy ground to visit. They grinded out a result and they deserved their point. It could be argued that it was not because they put in such a performance, but because Barcelona were wasteful in front of the goal. But, Valencia played with what they were dealt, and their gamble payed off.

If you don’t take your chances, you get punished. It’s one of the inevitabilities of football. We see this every other week.

There is no harsh criticism here. Barca and MSN know what they’re capable of, they should come to terms with the fact that they were the reason for this result and not their opponents, and need to pull up their socks, put on their shooting boots and go practice.

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Valencia:

Best: Paco Alacer (B+): The lonely figure up top. No support, no chance of post-play. He was left to watch and hope that a good pass would be floated towards him. When it did happen, he composed himself and set up Mina. Otherwise, he did little to press Barca’s defense. But, he did offer runs whenever there were counter-attacks.

Questionable display: Ruben Vezo (D): Neymar turned him inside out. Almost every single time he was up against Neymar, he lost the duel. To the point that he almost gave up the RB position and moved inwards to make an awkward RB-RCB hybrid while another RCB was present.

Barca:

Best: Neymar (A-): Our MotM . He missed an easy chance. Now that’s out of the way, let’s get to the good stuff. We probably covered it. Created chances like they were on a conveyor belt? Well, nothing more to say except maybe he is well and truly on his way to be heralded as the world’s best in a couple of years if he keeps this up.

Questionable display: Rakitic (C): Very average. Right from his distribution to his defensive duties. Although he offered himself as an outlet when things got crowded, he did not impose himself when trying to finds his other team-mates. He did put in a shift and run down the channels, pressed and won back balls. Could do a lot better. We’ve see it.

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