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The return from the international break saw Barcelona paired up against local rivals Espanyol. The table toppers sat comfortably above Atletico Madrid by 10 points in the La Liga before the game but still needed to stay there to ease into the Champions League game next week. Espanyol had a task at their hands, winless at the Camp Nou in over a decade.
Ernesto Valverde started with a 4-3-3 including Messi and Suarez in his lineup despite both stars returning from injury. Coutinho slotted in at the left wing while Nelson Semedo started from the right-back spot instead of Sergi Roberto.
The first half was a back and forth between both sides and surprisingly Barcelona did not register even one shot on target. The second half opened up more opportunities for Barcelona. Lionel Messi opened the goalscoring through a free kick in the 71st minute. Barcelona's lead was doubled by the Argentine in the 89th minute.
Barcelona will next face Villarreal in their mid-week game as they now go 13 points ahead of their closest opponent. Here are five hits and flops from the game.
Also see : Womens World Cup Bracket, Copa America Standings, Gold Cup Standings
#5 Flop: Borja Iglesias
Iglesias is the biggest goal threat for the opposition in the Espanyol team. He played as a striker in a 5-3-2 but on most occasions, he was the only man up front for Espanyol. Against Barcelona though, Iglesias posed no threat to the goal, whatsoever. Even though Espanyol had the chance to hit Barcelona on multiple occasions through Iglesias, he messed a lot of them.
The passes and lobs towards him were not the best, granted, but neither was his will to win the ball or his positioning to receive the pass. Pique had him smothered all over on almost all occasions and won most aerials ahead of him. He had a chance to put Espanyol ahead but Clement Lenglet denied him. Being a striker and playing against Barcelona, these chances should be converted. Iglesias was dispossessed twice in the game too.
He was substituted in the 64th minute by Wu Lei.
#4 Hit: Malcom
If you need lessons on how to make an impact, ask Malcom. The Brazilian who was bought by Barcelona in the summer has hardly played for the team. But when he is on the pitch, he has been amazing. He scored the opening goal against Inter away from home, equalized in superb fashion against Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey, and yesterday against Espanyol he did it again to help his side.
Malcom was brought on by Valverde in the 59th minute in search of a goal. His impact through the left wing was clearly visible with Barcelona's left side catching more fire than ever in the game. Coutinho's slow movements were replaced by a more direct move, get the ball and just ram through the opposition into the box. Coutinho also played better in the midfield.
Malcom's runs through the sides were amazing and problematic for Espanyol's defense. His decision making and passing were good too. Although he missed a good chance to give Barcelona the lead, he got a good assist to Lionel Messi which helped Barca get their second goal.
#3 Flop: Victor Sanchez
Espanyol's captain Victor Sanchez had a poor day at the office. He was the one who tackled Lionel Messi at RCDE Stadium to give away a free kick. We know what followed. Messi stepped up and curled the ball past Diego Lopez's reach. But he hasn't learned anything from his previous experience it seems.
Yesterday when Barcelona was desperately looking for a way to score, he fouled Lionel Messi just outside the box. If that wasn't enough, he completely misjudged Messi's kick and headed it out of the reach for his own keeper. A freekick which could otherwise be saved was helped past by Victor Sanchez.
Even without this incident, Victor Sanchez's numbers were not any good. He made only 16 passes, poor for a midfielder. He also made 3 tackles but only out of an attempted 11. A tackle success rate of 27%. Also, he was dribbled past eight times in the game, more than any other player on the pitch. Espanyol's captain was booed off by Camp Nou but his performance would attract jeers from even his home supporters.
#2 Hit: Clement Lenglet
A 35 million bargain? When Barcelona paid Sevilla this price for Lenglet, most of the football fraternity was not very fond of it. Lenglet was playing at Sevilla but he didn't have the status of a world-class player that de Ligt or Kimpembe possessed and people expected the Blaugrana to chase.
When Samuel Umtiti's injury crisis struck the Blaugrana, they needed their 35-million-buy to step up and boy has he stepped up. Lenglet is performing up to a standard where it is impossible to bench him, not even for Samuel Umtiti. He has been making such a strong case for playing in the French National team as well.
Lenglet was amazing against Espanyol yesterday alongside Gerard Pique. He denied at least two direct goal threats, one in the first half and another one in the second. In the first half, he made a last-man tackle on Borja Iglesias to deflect the ball away from him. In the second half, he made the perfect sliding interception from a cutback before the ball reaches Wu Lei and cleared the danger.
Want to know the pass success for Lenglet? 93%, with 53/57 passes made. He also helped to push the defensive lineup and completed a neat dribble too. We need to look at Didier Deschamps' next excuse for not calling Lenglet up just as he has been giving for Laporte's exclusion.
#1 Hit: Lionel Messi
We are not worthy to watch Messi. Even in the worst of his performances, his intelligence and game outshine every other man on the pitch. Messi only passed at 74% success yesterday, not his best by any means and still, he manages to pull the rabbit out of the hat. He completed 10/12 dribbles that he attempted, not dispossessed even once by the opposition. That was something like the vintage Messi.
Now, look at Messi's first goal. With the ball right on top of the line of the box, it is virtually impossible to score. It was too close to lift the ball over the ball and have it dip into the net. The only other option was to go for power and that has to be done where the keeper is positioned and not over the ball. What did Messi do? He chipped the ball with absolutely no pace on it. Poor Victor Sanchez broke off the wall to head the ball away, that is what was done. But what did he know? The pace of the ball just caught him off guard and instead of clearing it, he headed it into the net.
The second goal from Messi is not easy by any means. He made the run into the box perfectly in time for the cutback. He had to wrap his foot around the ball and around the defender's foot. With that position and connection with the ball, he could only aim for one position on the net, diagonally to the bottom left, and he found it. Everything happens so easily for him.
Let's hope he continues on his good form for the rest of the season.
