Barcelona were left shell-shocked by a determined and clinical Valencia side as they slumped to a 2-1 defeat on the night at the hands of their unlikely conquerors.
Valencia put behind a really nervous start to ride their luck and ability of their keeper for large parts of the game. The first strike came from a Barcelona boot as Ivan Rakitic put the ball into his own net to give Los Che the lead.
The second goal came on the stroke of half-time to set the game on fire as Santi Mina drilled past Claudio Bravo after a fantastic run into the path of a delicious through ball by Dani Parejo.
Messi delightfully pulled one back after a brilliant run into the box and a crisp finish. However, that proved to be the final result as Barcelona lost on the night.
Here’s a look at the game’s talking points.
1) Santi Mina is a star in the making
You simply cannot ignore a young player who scores at the Camp Nou when his team is tipped to in all likelihood lose the game. You cannot ignore in particular this young Spanish forward who made the move to Los Che from Celta Vigo this summer.
Coming in for a not so nominal fee in the summer, the young forward has braved a torrid time this season as Valencia seemed to be at odds with their coaching setup. The young forward player has provided an ordinary return of 7 goals and 4 assists in 27 appearances overall. However, if you were to put into context the managerial uncertainty at Valencia and the lackluster season he side are having, this is a fabulous return for a 20-year-old.
His goal at Camp Nou was nothing short of phenomenal as he drew himself slightly wide to eventually beat the backline into the space in behind them for Dani Parejo’s accurate through ball which he duly dispatched even though he did drag himself into an acute angle making the finish a nice one.
If the starlet keeps developing well, Spain may have a future star in waiting at the Mestalla.
2) Messi breaks goalless streak
Lionel Messi was heaving a sigh of relief as he finally broke his duck for the last 500 minutes of football. He would, however, rue the fact that, all of his heroics were in vain as Barcelona lost the game and in effect dropped points which suddenly makes it anybody’s La Liga title when it comes to the table’s top 3.
Lionel Messi turned in a Jordi Alba ball into the box after running onto it driving in from the right. Leo was evidently trying to give it a little extra as he did on occasion threaten to break his duck and offer his side a lifeline earlier than he eventually did.
However, he was thwarted by a fantastic defence and goalkeeper on the night on a number of occasions. When he did, however, get a glaring chance in the second half, he put it well beyond anyone’s blocking range or even the reach of the keeper and into the net.
3) Pako Ayesteran may be a shrewd appointment
This isn’t Pako Ayesteran’s first coming at Valencia. He has in fact contributed to the richest part of Valencia’s history of late. Assistant manager to Rafa Benitez at Valencia for over 11 years, before leaving with Benitez for Liverpool.
He then came back later as a fitness coach and left thereafter to take up a job as assistant to Quique Sanchez Flores in Dubai. He would then go to Maccabi Tel Aviv where he led the side to their first treble in their history eventually coming back to Valencia as an assistant during the ill-fated tenure of Gary Neville.
Now he stands here with Los Che as the manager, at least for the remainder of the season. Since his appointment, Pako has led Valencia to two back to back victories and the stage is set for Los Che to perhaps end the season with a dignified set of results.
Pako Ayesteran could be a shrewd appointment as the permanent manager. He knows how to win and he does indeed know the club inside out. If backed with the right money in the market, as Peter Lim has promised the club and the right amount of time, Pako may deliver due results at the Mestalla.
4) Barcelona have imploded
At this stage, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid lie level on points in the La Liga table and the eighteen goal difference sets them apart. Both teams are into their final stretch of games and Atletico seem relentless in dispatching teams. Barcelona are under all sorts of pressure at the moment.
The thing here is that Barcelona shouldn’t have been in this position in the first place. The season was set up to be one where Luis Enrique’s side would break a multitude of attacking and result oriented records on the way to a title and maybe retention of their European title to boot.
However, far from managing to do either, Barcelona now stand the genuine risk of finishing as low as third in the La Liga with both Madrid-based rivals a point apart from each other and by extension level or a point away from Barcelona themselves.
Barcelona have managed to draw one and lose three La Liga games out of their last five. If you consider all competitions, Barcelona have lost four in five. In short, Barcelona have imploded and could get dragged into a worse situation from here onwards.
5) Luis Enrique has a mess to sort out
Luis Enrique is a man clearly in need of answers, most of them on the pitch. The season was cruising along for the Catalan favourite before everything seemed to capitulate of its own accord. Barcelona played a near full-strength team today against one that has been struggling all season.
Even on the day Valencia looked there for the taking, no one seemed to manage to achieve that goal from the Catalan side. Not only does Luis Enrique’s first team look clueless all of a sudden, Enrique himself looks like a man who has completely lost all semblance of patience himself.
One glance at the touchline and you could see Luis Enrique jumping, ranting and screaming at the performance Barcelona were putting in and there was not a thing he could do about it. In fact, it was very surprising that he chose not to use his bench to change things up at all. This could be the mark of a man who has lost all control over proceedings.
If that isn’t the case, Luis Enrique has a lot to sort out and fast.
