Barcelona 2-1 Bayer Leverkusen: Highlights and 5 Talking Points

Barcelona celebrate Luis Suarez’s winner as they beat Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 at the Camp NouA Lionel Messi-less Barcelona left it late but eventually eked out a narrow 2-1 victory over Bayer Leverkusen as they took pole position in Group E. Kyriakos Papadopoulos headed home a corner midway in the first half to give the visitors a shock lead. After nearly an hour of valiant fighting, their resilience was beaten as substitute Sergi Roberto who tapped home a loose ball after goalkeeper Leno spilled a pass. Luis Suarez then turned the match on its head with a venomous shot from inside the box.It was a bit harsh on Leverkusen as they showed plenty of quality and vigour to hold the defending champions for a large swathe of the game. But a moment of brilliance from the maverick Uruguayan was all it took to snatch all three points. Here are some of the talking points from the game. Highlights

#1 Luis Suarez once again steps up

In the absence of their chieftain Lionel Messi, Barcelona always had to walk the extra mile to grind out a victory, for he has such an influence on the match just with his presence. That left the remaining two of the prolific MSN troika, Neymar and Suarez, to come up trumps in such situations. And needless to say, the latter starred again and stepped up to the plate for Barcelona.

Suarez had scored a brace last week in his side’s 2-1 win over Las Palmas at home, and for the second match on the bounce, proved to be the difference-maker with a sumptuous strike into the top corner from a tight angle that handed the home side the winner. The Uruguayan ace waved his wand yet again and came up big when it really mattered.

However, prior to his match-winning moment, the former Liverpool hitman was one of the few shining lights in an otherwise gloomy Barca side, getting involved in fast build-up play, trying to get the likes of Neymar and Sandro into the game and putting up crosses for his teammates.

#2 Injury crisis deepens for Barcelona

Barcelona’s early season casualties saw another player joining them on the treatment table. And this time, it was the captain himself, Andres Iniesta, who limped off with a hamstring problem. The 31-year-old playmaker left the field after the hour mark to aggravate the existing tensions in the Barcelona camp.

The injury couldn’t have come at a worse time as manager Luis Enrique is already doing without long-term absentee Rafinha and also lost his most influential player for as long as two months. Losing another crucial player has left him in a tight spot, opening a Pandora’s box.

With FIFA rejecting their appeal to play Arda Turan, the holders don’t have many options left. Pedro is long gone while Barcelona even loaned out the likes of Cristian Tello and Alen Halillovic. Now the only thing that Lucho can do is hope that the injury isn’t serious and the skipper is able to return to the fold at the earliest.

#3 The pressing conundrum of the Catalans

One of the major reasons for Celta Vigo’s emphatic 4-1 victory over Barcelona last week was the high pressing game they executed. Bayer Leverkusen exercised the same and managed to put the hosts to the sword for much of the first half.

It was they who visibly created the better chances going forward and the Blaugrana were trembling to cope with it. Leverkusen were treacherous even without the ball and their intelligent moves in the box helped them gain the lead from a set-piece.

Although the high-pressing tactic left the men in white energy-sapped by the end of the game and eventually buckled under the pressure of Barcelona, it is a ploy that can still yield dividends if the team is a far greater proposition, like Real Madrid. This may cause some serious problems and the defenders’ title aspirations will land in jeopardy.

#4 Munir should have started instead of Sandro

It was his chance. It was his moment of reckoning when manager Luis Enrique opted to start him for the very first time in his career. But Sandro Ramirez failed to grab the opportunity with both hands, as the La Masia graduate failed to inspire in attack and appeared rather pedestrian.

The 20-year-old forward struggled to find his footing in the game and couldn’t connect with his team-mates. He even had two chances to get on the score sheet, but ended up whipping it wide. He was put out of his misery deep in the second half when he was substituted in favour of another academy product Munir El-Haddadi, who contrastingly, was ingenious and sparkling while he was on the pitch.

He managed to cut through the defence and even set up the winner for Suarez after some brilliant footwork and would have certainly added a different dimension to the game had he started ahead of his counterpart.

#5 Barcelona lacked the punch without Messi

The treble holders were dealt a massive blow over the weekend when their anchorman Lionel Messi sustained a ligament tear that is set to keep him out of action for the next two months. The dynamics of their game would thereby take a hit and the Catalans had to find a way to cope in his absence.

With Sandro coming on for Messi on the right, the hosts struggled to create many clear-cut chances and lacked the firepower that they normally exude at Camp Nou. Despite the duo of Neymar and Suarez in the attack, Barcelona were barely threatening and Messi’s absence evidently took away the ferocity from the attack. They even had problems at the back as the Catalans lacked defensive cohesion and Leverkusen were afforded too much spaces to exploit.

For all their efforts, the visiting side deservedly went ahead in the first half and after 58 minutes of clinging on to the lead, were unfortunate to cede their advantage and just one moment of brilliance is what it took to turn the tables.