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#1. Barcelona’s midfield domination
Barcelona tried another midfield combination on Saturday with Arthur Melo and Arturo Vidal partnering Sergio Busquets. Though the Brazilian failed to stamp his authority on the game, Vidal and Busquets looked accomplished.
Busquets was quietly effective in the middle third and kept things ticking. The Spaniard accumulated 91 passes at an accuracy of 89%. In addition, he also notched up 5 tackles and 3 interceptions.
Vidal, meanwhile, enjoyed his best game in a Barcelona shirt. He was on hand to deal with everything Rayo had to throw at the hosts and made in excess of ten ball recoveries. Moreover, he put in eight tackles through the course of the game. His ball-playing wasn’t too shabby either with the Chilean mustering 95 passes at an astounding 95.8% success rate.
Last season, the Blaugrana were guilty of getting out-muscled and outrun in midfield in clutch situations. Thus, they brought Vidal on board to add a physical edge to the game.
And while he may not be the most flamboyant player on Barcelona’s ranks, his tenacity could end up proving paramount as push comes to shove (literally too) during the closing stages of the season.
After all, a warrior of the ilk of Vidal could just be the missing piece in their jigsaw.
