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Barcelona travelled to the Mestalla to face Valencia on Saturday, knowing very well that they needed all 3 points to stay abreast of archrivals Real Madrid. The Blaugrana were tied on 43 points with Los Blancos, but only a slightly better goal difference had enabled Quique Setien’s men to stay at the top of the league. The new Barcelona manager was looking to add to his 100% win record but was aware that it was going to be anything but easy.
The home side were in the top of their game and registered a deserved 2-0 victory, as the former Real Betis manager suffered his first defeat at the helm of the reigning La Liga champions.
Although the Catalans had registered an impressive 5-2 victory in the reverse fixture earlier this season, the Mestalla had proven to be a tricky place to visit in recent times. Valencia, on the other hand, had endured a 4-1 drubbing at the hands of Mallorca in the last league game but had reverted to winning ways in midweek, with a 1-0 victory over UD Logrones in the Copa Del Rey. Setien knew that he had his task cut out for the game and named his first eleven accordingly.
The home side were the better team in the first half but Barcelona managed to hold on, and the game went into the break with the scores level. In the second half, Valencia took the lead through an Alba own goal in the 48th minute. The visitors rallied for an equalizer but were undone by Maxi Gomez, who doubled the score for Valencia in the 77th minute and ultimately won the game for the home side. Here are 3 talking points from the game.
#3 Ter Stegen saves Barca's blushes in the first half
Barcelona endured a terrible start to the game when Pique committed a foul on Valencia full-back Gaya inside the box. The referee gave the home side a penalty and up stepped Gomez to take the spot-kick. However, he faced an upbeat Ter Stegen, who guessed correctly and dived to his left side to keep out the spot-kick. From then on, the Barcelona goalkeeper worked his fingers to the bone to keep the home side at bay for the first 45 minutes.
Ter Stegen made at least 4 crucial saves before the break to keep his side in the game, and Barcelona were grateful to the German goalkeeper for bailing them out. However, he was undone by Gomez’s strike early in the second half, which deflected off Alba. He was also powerless to stop the Uruguayan from scoring Valencia’s second of the night.
#2 Barcelona all style but very little substance
Barcelona finished the game with 867 passes, with 92% accuracy and had 74% possession in the game. It was a clear indication of Setien’s style of play, as the Barcelona manager attempted to implement his possession-based football on the game. However, even though Barcelona controlled the majority of the game, they lacked the cutting edge that was required to see the game through.
In the first half, the Catalans rarely threatened the home side and registered just one shot on target. After they went behind in the second half, Barcelona had a little more urgency in their game but failed to make their possession count. The Catalans registered 14 shots in the game in total and only 5 of them were on target.
With this defeat, Barcelona remain on 43 points after 21 games, still top of the table, albeit temporarily. Their reign at the top, though, could end by the time the weekend is over. Real Madrid play Real Valladolid on Sunday and even a draw would see them leapfrog Barcelona in the LaLiga standings.
#1 Luiz Suarez could be a big miss for Barcelona
Earlier in January, Luis Suarez picked up a knee injury against Atletico Madrid in the Spanish Supercup semifinals. The club subsequently revealed that Suarez had undergone surgery on his knee and would be out for 4 months.
Suarez’s injury was a big blow to the Catalans. The Uruguayan had been an important figure for Barcelona this season and had already scored 14 times from 23 games before injuring himself. In his absence, Barcelona are without a proper number 9 in the team and against Valencia, the Uruguayan was a big miss.
Setien opted for a front three of Fati, Griezmann, and Messi on the day, however, the team missed the movement and positioning of Suarez in the final third. Lionel Messi did lead a late assault on the home defence, but the Argentinean failed to inspire his team on the night. Messi had 11 shot, 4 of which were on target.
Barcelona will surely be considering bringing in a replacement before the transfer window closes, because, as the game against Valencia showed Suarez could be a big miss for the Catalans this season.
