Barcelona
Marc-Andre Ter Stegen: 6/10
The Barcelona goalkeeper was extremely lucky to have conceded only one goal. His distribution was poor as his attempted long passes never reached its intended target. His save of Carlos Vela’s shot before the Sociedad goal was fantastic but he was unlucky to concede.
Sergi Roberto: 5/10
The Barcelona right-back will have to step up the defensive aspect of his game as he was troubled for the whole of the first half by Oyarzabal and Berchiche. He was hesitant to close down and commit to the tackle on many occasions and was also out of position. In the second half, he was very good contributing to the attack but poor defensively again.
Gerrard Pique: 6.5/10
It is not secret that Gerrard Pique has been impeccable in defence for Barcelona this season but this game was, however, his toughest so far. The defender was clearly not 100% fit but battled on to play the whole 90 minutes. He lacked concentration leading to Sociedad’s goal but was very strong to stop the final ball throughout the game.
Javier Mascherano: 6/10
Mascherano had a tough game in defence as he was pressurised by Carlos Vela, Xabi Prieto and Willian Jose throughout the game. He was, however, more creative than Sergio Busquets in the first half despite sitting in defence. Mascherano proved his ability to sit deep and absorb pressure but was skilfully weak on a few occasions.
Jordi Alba: 5/10
The left back had a horrible first half after he was caught well out of position far too often. He was either attacking too deep or was outplayed by Vela and Berchiche throughout the first half. He battled through pain after his injury and was much better in the second half, especially in contributing to the attack.
Ivan Rakitic: 3.5/10
This was a game to forget for the Croatian international who was substituted at the end of the first half. Rakitic has been in poor form recently and showed signs of fatigue. He lacked creativity and looked nothing even remotely close to his best. He will have a lot to do before the Clasico.
Sergio Busquets: 3/10
‘When Sergio Busquets fails, Barcelona fails,’ is a popular phrase in the recent past with many of the pundits and fans. Sergio Busquets was completely clueless in midfield and looked out of his zone throughout the game. He lacked everything he is typically known for i.e., composure, positioning and distribution.
Andre Gomes: 5.5/10
The European Championship ran tirelessly up and down the pitch to help out in both attack and defence. His positioning was good but in terms of skill Andre Gomes was extremely poor. He was shaky when helping out with his defence and took far too long to make up his mind when helping out with the attack.
Neymar: 7.5/10
The Brazillian was easily Barcelona’s best player going forward as he posed a threat to Real Sociedad’s defence every time he picked up the ball on the left flank. He did well to beat Sociedad’s gritty defence and set up Lionel Messi’s equaliser. His free kick was the first shot Barcelona had on target and came close to troubling Rulli.
Luis Suarez: 4/10
Barcelona’s number 9 has been struggling this season despite netting goals regularly. Suarez has been poor in terms of pressing and positioning and it was the same against Sociedad. He was caught offside far too often, something that is considered a sin for a striker of his level.
Lionel Messi: 7/10
Once again, Messi saved Barcelona. The Argentine actually had a pretty poor first half by his standards as he failed to find space, but in the second half he troubled Real Sociedad at every chance he got. He also made a few fantastic tackles.
Substitutes
Denis Suarez: 7/10
Suarez was fantastic after coming on for Barcelona and utilised his chances very well and was unlucky to have his shot cleared on the goal line. What is impressive is that the player refused to go down despite some strong challenges on him.
