The Ratings: Valencia CF 1-1 FC Barcelona
Barcelona got a positive 1-1 away draw at Mestalla in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals. The crucial away goal gives Barca the advantage ahead of next week’s second leg at Camp Nou. Just like in the previous round at the Bernabeu, Carles Puyol scored yet another header from a corner. Lionel Messi missed a penalty that could have given Barcelona the win, but, all things considered, it was a very good result, one that opens great perspectives for the second leg.
Here are the ratings for today’s match.
José Manuel Pinto – 6.5
Had a good game overall, but should have been sent off for a handball outside the penalty area in the first half. He was very lucky to get away unpunished.
Éric Abidal – 7
Had his hands full with Pablo Piatti, but did a solid job overall and came close to scoring in the second half, but his shot was saved by Diego Alves.
Gerard Piqué – 6
Never looked very comfortable in the match. Gave the ball away a few times in dangerous positions and struggled to contain Soldado.
Javier Mascherano – 7
Had a solid match, showing good positioning and making quite a few key tackles. Was booked for a late challenge on Soldado.
Carles Puyol – 8
Was beaten for pace by Mathieu in the lead-up to Valencia’s goal, but had a great performance otherwise. Made several key interceptions and tackles, scored the equalizer with a brilliant header and, perhaps surprisingly, showed great dribbling skills at times, leading the team forward with his boundless energy.
Sergio Busquets – 7.5
Did his defensive job impeccably and showed great distribution as always. He often looked about to create something great offensively, but there was always something missing in the final moment, mostly a quality final ball or the right moment to make the decision. He can still improve a lot on the offensive aspect of his game.
Thiago Alcantara – 6.5
Could never fully assert his influence on the game amidst the very intense Valencia pressure. He did have some good touches and passes and he won Barca the penalty, but it’s clear that he has not been at his best lately and this match was no exception.
Cesc Fabregas – 7
Played much better than in the previous two matches, but still far from his best. His passing was more accurate and incisive than in recent matches, he had some interesting combinations with Messi and he assisted Puyol’s goal with a great corner kick.
Isaac Cuenca – 7
Was extremely inconsistent during the 90 minutes, with moments of pure brilliance and long periods of anonymity. The highlight of his performance is his amazing run and assist that would lead to the corner from which Puyol equalized.
Alexis Sanchez – 6.5
Ran a lot, but never made use of his dribbling skills and was guilty of missing two great chances. He had a decent performance, but failed to impress.
Lionel Messi – 6.5
Was far from his best, but still created quite a few chances for his teammates and was constantly fouled by the Valencia defenders. His penalty miss is obviously a blemish on his performance.
Substitutues:
Daniel Alves – 7
Brought new life to Barcelona’s right flank and was very close to scoring the winner when his shot hit the post.
Tello – N/A
Only played about five minutes, making one good run in added time, but didn’t really have time to make a significant impact.
These ratings have been written by Manuel Traquete. He is a lifelong FC Barcelona supporter and a freelance football writer who shares his thoughts @Manueltraquete.
What do you guys think our transfers will look like this year?
Im guessing Botia and Alba (plus a few first team promotions)
Depending on the development of Bartra from now and the start of next season, I think he should be promoted. And I agree with Jordi Alba.
And where will be Alba playing ? Left forward ? I dont see him. Bartra up into the first team…
Left back. We sold Maxwell, Abidal is not getting any younger, and the best we have from the B team is Carles Planas.
Who is Alba? Jordi Alba?
Someone wasn't watching the game last night…..
Jordi Alba is Sevilla's left-back, used to play in Barca's youth system..
I think they let him leave when he was 15 or 16 years old!!
Isn't he already playing for Spain's national team by now???
I'D SAY.. GET HIM!!
Someone wasn't watching the game last night…..
Jordi Alba is Sevilla's left-back, used to play in Barca's youth system..
Yeah you were also not watching cause last night Barca was playing Valencia! :p
LOL
He's not worth the 20 million.
Isn't his contract up this year, meaning there's a chance we get him on a Bosman?
Alba is too short……we really need tall people in corners….I don't think Alba is that great to be honest.
tall people in corners???? hahahahahahahahahahaha
you need more and more short players style Xavi Iniesta Thiago or Messi
TALL PEOPLE IN CORNES? JHAHAHAAhahahha
If you want us to get destroyed in every corner kick then lets get jordi alba to replace one of our 2 tall defenders….Abidal
I agree, Masch is way too small for a CB!!
Don't get me wrong, he's doing great,
but when it comes to heading, he's rubbish..
remember last year's Copa for example???
I don't see that as a reason for not buying Alba BTW!!!
Left and right-backs are usually a lot smaller than center backs!!
Mach is still a beast tho…
Masch is still a beast tho……..
How about a strike who can score 30 goals a season? we can't keep relying on Messi to score all the goals and in my opinion Eto'o still hasn't been replaced.
i'm agree, and not from la masia,
If for whatever reason Villa or Afellay decide to leave in the summer, I would really love to buy Aguero.
I would also really love to see Oriol Romeu, especially if keita leaves.
i think jordi showed why we should sign him, but my only concern is that although he may be a better attacking LB than abidal he is nowhere near a defender!!
OT: Can anyone help me out? Is totalbarca website free? I want to have an identical website for my hometown football club. How much does it cost and how can i get one of these websites but with or for a different team. Is there anyone I can talk to?
lol
Good ratings although Cuenca's is too high. Should be a 6 or 6.5. Puyol is CLEAR MOTM. And play of the game should be Puyols pirouettes in the second half
I was laughing my ass away!
To be honest I was laughing too…Puyol's like the last guy you'd expect to see doing that.
And I also know a handsome, rich and a very good player who'd be SO jealous after seeing that!:D
Exactly. I was rubbing my eyes to see if I am wrong but no – Puyol proved me wrong
Would love for Jordi Alba to be picked up this summer… He can play anywhere along the left side!
rest Messi against Real Sociedad. Tello in starting line up.
How about Dos Santos! He played as well!
dos santos gave the ball away so many times! he needs to believe in himself more when he's in the first team
I know, agree with you, but question is why he is not rated. I rate him 6.
I would have given Messi a 6. He was selfish when he didn't have to be and unselfish when he had to be. Had many chances running towards goal and lost the ball too many times,he missed the penalty kick.Mascherano was flawless and should be up there with puyol with an 8. He's our best defender with puyol and he's the best in the defense with the ball in his feet. Cesc was our best player in attack.
Agreed with the ratings. Last night was one of the worst Messi I've ever seen. The fact that Xavi did not play makes it even worse. Normally without Xavi in it, Messi would play incredibly well…much more incredible than he usually is. Was he affected by all the refs injustices this season, the Villarreal draw or what? …so disappointed cuz I have so much expectation of him before the match.
Messi had a disappointing game and was too selfish on counters to give up the ball to our other players when he should have, and instead collided with about 5 defenders each time he would try to take everyone on by himself. On the other hand, Xavi's absence in this game could be seen from an airplane. We kept possession much worse than usual and the passing in the midfield was below our standards. Messi is our best player, but it's much worse playing without both Xavi and Iniesta than when those guys are playing and Messi isn't (but not like Messi will ever get rested in the history of ever). Which means, that even though he needs some rest, Xavi is indispensable when Iniesta is injured, because, while he didn't have such a bad game as last few, Cesc still needs to work a lot on his orchestrating of the midfield because (unlike his scoring) it has been a real let down so far, so we still can't count on him to take Xavi's role while Thiago is still too young to be given such a responsibility and he looks to be a more direct player that a regular CM himself.
What's wrong with Messi? And please don't make the typical excuse that he's tired. 90 % of games Messi doesn't even pressure and he mostly walks in the pitch unlike the 2 wingers who must do alot of pressure. He didn't even have a preseason to be tired. He has gained weight also. Barca pays him 12 million dollars a year so Don't feel bad for my criticism towards him.
He played Copa America, forgotten? He had no rest and he played two super cups and cwc. And His numbers (goals, assists) are better then ever.
he only played 4 games in copa america. he wasn't there not even 2 full weeks,. When he scored a hat trick against weak malaga no one was saying he's tired. We only use the "he is tired" excuse when he flops. Maybe he's not that great without iniesta and xavi. He can have goods games without them but he can't have great season without them. Let's accept it, messi needs xavi or iniesta b.c the other players are not mature enough.
and not only messi played supercups so did cristina ronalda and xavi ,iniesta
I think I'm wrong. The opponent is not the reason cuz he can play against any team, any player and anywhere. Maybe the reason is his best mate Dani did not play from the start.
Dude (and I mean that cause I don't think you're a girl) your conspiracy nonsense is so out there you make El Barca Whatever look like a level-headed genius. Come on…enough already. BTW my wife's name is Jessica, a beautiful name, so you make me more annoyed being such a weirdo all the time using it
Messi scored hat tricks even when Xavi was playing, but this game he was mostly futile and even missed a penalty (not to take away credit from Alves for saving it, but it was still a crappy attempt). So I think your argument doesn't really stand.
Although I am not a Barca fan, but I am a big Messi fan and I want to say: What the hell are you guys talking about? You guys should be proud to have this guy in your team. Your team gives him 12m/year but he can earn more than that by playing for City or Madrid. He has scored an incredible amount of goals this season and overall. He is better than any other player who have ever played for your team.
You guys should thank god that you have this genius, but instead you are criticizing him for not scoring in the last 3 games.
Shame on you Barca fans.
Var, you dont need to remind us. We have true fans that knows issues in football and therefore knows his value here. We also have bandwagoners as well, that feels players are robots that must always satisfy them if not they do nothing but whine deceiving themselves that they’re being realistic. So thanks for your writing but dont insult us..
pre season doesnt make u tired during the season. pre-season training makes u fitter so that u get less tired during the season.
so u pretty much answered ur own question there. he didnt even have a pre season
Cuenca had a good game for me, he did great things and actually did nothing wrong.
Piqué was not good, he really needs to pick up his form because he is not always as reliable as he has been. Puyol is having a great time and he really shows why he is our Capita!
Messi had a bad game, but he deserves credit for what he already achieved this season. We can't blame him for everything that went wrong yesterday.
Messi will find his scoring boots back in no time and then he will go crazy again. I expect him to score against Sociedad to prove all those who criticise him now wrong.
For me this was also a game that showed that Xavi and Iniesta are still irreplacable in this squad. Thiago has a bright future in Barcelona and Fabregas as well. But the experience needed to really carry a team forward is still lacking. Xavi will be needed for at least 3 more years, in that time Thiago will be completely ready.
This is a hard season, but we have been given so much the latest seasons, that we are starting to act a little bit spoiled. We played games against Madrid, Villareal and Valencia, it is normal that we don't win every game. Barcelona is still a joy to watch, and the results will follow shortly!
Visca el Barça!
Pep disagrees:
Guardiola: "This was the best game we've played here at Mestalla since I'm coach. Valencia created few chances."
Barcaholic disagrees:
"Pep: Maybe this was our best game here but not our best result considering the numerous chances we had."
Of course it wasnt the best result we have ever managed in Valencia, but what matters is how we played, which is what Pep is focusing on. Very positive performance, especially considering that Xavi, Valdes and Alves were rested and we were without Villa, Iniesta and Pedro among others. Thats half our first team! I'm sure everyone agrees that Valencia were relieved when the final whistle was heard, and that says it all.
Well this was certainly far better than the disaster at the first half earlier this season.
OT :Few good tweets from Graham Hunter:
1.my original point stands that teams routinely and tactically foul FCB to stem their flow. If that's okay with you, fine.
2.One thing that FCB don't do is play win at all costs football. Doesn't matter whether you like them or not.
Point 1. Spot on. I can get the frustration, but really, it just kills the game.
there is no rating for JDS, he played too
Overall very good rates.
I thought Puyol deserves a better rate though. He was everywhere, literally, and never ran out of motivating-energy. And that double tsukahara he did… While cheering in my living room I, shamefully, let out of this high squeaky voice.
Now, regarding the lovely Messi, just some random thoughts (and sorry for bubbling here – I have a day off – lol):
First of all, there is a defendant reduction to his performance lately (excluding the recent wonderful hattrick – perhaps his Mom's birthday was a motivator? Who knows). He looses the ball quite often and worth, it seems like it actually gets under his skin now. Like something is wrong. And I don't mean physically.
Now, if you saw the beginning of the game, it was evident that the Valencia players got a tactic (and very annoying) instructions to stop him (and other dribblers) non-violently, but nevertheless at any cost. Pooling his shirt, holding him by the hand, hugging him from behind… anything goes. I'm afraid it is becoming the default now, thought by "the" Mourinho. (Mourinho simply adds kicks and slaps to this dirty equation.) This and 2-4 defenders per dribble. Yesterday, the judge didn't want to give a yellow at the first minutes, a decision which was a huge mistake. These "non-violent" (in the sense that it aint aimed to break a leg, just to stop) attacks that went almost without notice, simply, I believe, messed up with Messi's head.
Moreover, it almost seems that he fears tackles now. That it finally got him. That he is not this careless spirit anymore that just loves football so much. Like he has something to loose now. He fears of getting this carrier-ending shot or something. Or perhaps he fears of loosing his position on top. Too many thoughts. So he dribbles, a lot, but it seems that he over-thinking it. The combination of 2-4 defenders and Messi overthinking his moves, causes him of loosing the ball.
More-moreover, Messi needs confidence. He needs to know that his teammates will keep up with him – double pass with him at the tightest of spaces, be at the open spaces he opens up for them and in the right position – fast running forward. I'm afraid he still doesn't quite get it from (the wonderful wonderful) Sanchez. Iniesta, Pedro and Villa are out. Cuenca is very young. Maybe Messi doesn't fully count on them. Maybe. He tries alone too much. Perhaps he doesn't feel comfortable with his forward teammates so much. He is not as happy anymore. Unhappy Messi, is something we all afraid of. But perhaps it goes further back; confidence issues can perhaps explain the relative lack of goals outside of Camp Nou. People claim he already earned it all, so he is loosing his motivation. I don't think this is the case. On the contrary perhaps. It is the continuous pressure to do it all over again that perhaps gets to him. And again. And again…
Despite all I said, when I watched the overview again, Messi was there in almost every decisive moment, assisting the misses of Alves, Abidal and others. So even a struggling Messi, is yet the most dangerous player on the pitch.
All in all, Messi is the best player I have ever witnessed (and I saw and admired Maradona and others). I just wish he will overcome whatever eats him, because I sure need his genius carefree touches that allow me – mortal – to dream.
*Sorry for my English*
you are over complicating a very simple issue!! they are humans we cannot expect them to play at a magnificent level all the time! im sorry but that is the reality.. messi has scored approx 36 or something like that! but forget that it is not him, the TEAM is not playing well, the tiki taka is not there only when alves came on messi did something, no one is opponing space up for him only sanchez but he coudnt yesterday! football is basic, you have good, very good, bad and very bad spells. the difference with us is that when we have bad spells we cant grind out a win like manchester united does so well.. but with us it affects the players, they get stressed out, thats why when the game is going to a draw you see our players playing exceptional in the last 10-15 minutes!! and teams have find out a way to play us hence we need something different at away games because as stats show our home record is amazing, but we need a target man, it just gives the opposition more to worry, right now all we are doing is played around the penalty area, isnt this why we got sanchez to penetrate and open up defences, well he was doing it very well but for a few weeks now it has stopped, i mean look at tello he had 3-4 minutes and did very well by OPENING SPACE!! do not overcomplicate the mentality of playerd with 'ref' decision, these are professional footballers, playing the game is second nature for them, the amount of training and mental assistance they get ensures their mental strength but i do admit maybe our position in the league MIGHT distort them!!
but we will rise again la liga is almost gone but the double awaits!!! ViscaElBarca!!
I've said it many times and I will repeat it again. Messi needs other players with quality game to help him out upfront. Who do we have upfront? Cuenca? Alexis? both are great players but we need world class forwards too. We can't expect to keep the same team when other teams are getting stronger. Madrid has a bench capable of replacing any starting 11 player. It's not that madrid has better players than barca but they do have a world class bench. We always rely on puyol pique for the big matches. What if puyol and pique need rest? what if one of them gets injured? and then other one gets suspension? we should have a world class or at least quality sub for each spot. we are playing too many canteranos ( there is nothing wrong with that) but let's be honest, it will take years to really find out if they will make it in barcelona. (neither xavi nor iniesta were good when they started )
We do have world class players up front. But naturally we cant have 2 world class players in every position or they demand to leave, like Yaya.
If Puyol and Pique both are out, we use Abidal and Masche, two world class players. Dont talk about Masche being a midfielder. For us, he is a great defender and thats what matters. In fact, he has been far better than Pique this season.
La Masia is the reason we are where we are, a model for the rest of the football world to copy.
Wjo do we have upront besides messi , alexis (not world class) , cuenca , pedro, ? Where is the other world class player? This shows how we rely too much on messi and if he is no good in a game we have no one else to rely on,
isnt alexis world class? hahah what cereal do you eat every morning??
well we do have world class forwards like villa, pedro, alexis, affellay, (and also iniesta can play up front) + cuenca and tello BUT villa is injured, pedro suffers from many small injuries hence he can't find his form, same with alexis and iniesta, affelay also got a long term injury and cuenca and tello are pretty young and unexperienced give them some time and they are probably going to be world class too.
so the problem is not that we don't have good players but that those players get injured a lot. so there's no way messi could get used to 2 of them playing with him regularly which maybe makes things a bit harder for him. but anyway things will improve alexis is gonna find his form pedro and iniesta are gonna be back soon. i'm not sure but i think affellay will be able to play in march (correct me if i'm wrong) and i'm still hoping for a very quick recovery from villa.
of villa*
I think that you two made some very good points there, regarding the team play, bench problems and the fact that other groups found perhaps the way to somewhat stop us. The MF possession is almost as good as it was last year, but indeed, a target man is missing. Too much futile (in goal-terms) possession, leads to inevitable counterattacks resulted from once in a while dropped ball and then a single goal can shake us. These are tactics (and other kind of problems) though. It can't explain the differences in performance in away and home games. It can't explain the way our players, all of a sudden, start to play in the last 10-15 minutes (when it sometimes, sadly, too late). My point is that it is not about tactics and not about physical strength. I talked about Messi, because I saw it clearly in his latest games, but it is true to other players in the group as well.
I don't think that players, although regularly trained, play, get mental assistance, etc. are necessarily mentally strong. Perhaps they should, at this level, and we sure expect them to be, but humans suffer such mental breaks or drops often. After all sports are largely relying on self-confidence, self belief and high motivation. This is why tennis is often breathtaking – for all the ups and downs during even a single game of a single player. Perhaps I over-analyze the reasons (lol – of course I did), but I was merely making the point that such a problem indeed exist. It can be gone next week or next game – I truly hope so – but at the moment, it something that cached my eyes (or my heart).
lol – I did.
B)
nice essay
xD
you're missing dos santos… LOL… i guess he was pretty invisible in the game…
Dos santos will never make it in first team , maybe pep will keep him b.c he's like a pinto ( someone who gets along with everyone and make it easier for other players to feel at home in the team)
give dos santos the responsability to play in keitas role and we'll see him shine once again. weve seen him shine in that position before
Is there any way to download freely Graham Hunters book – “Barca: The Making of the
Greatest Team in the World”!?
Don't know, but it's $10 on Amazon as a Kindle download.
I want to ask, can Barca win wen Messi not playing good? I mean where is Xavi Iniesta? lots of people always saying messi nothin without Xavi Iniesta…..now without Messi ( Messi underperform) can Xavi Iniesta makes Barca win????
So far I'm really starting to believe that Messi + xavi or iniesta complement eachother. I don't think Xavi or iniesta would underperform without Messi b.c they don't have to score goals…they have to create chances and even without Messi they would create chances. Barca as a whole would underperform without Messi. But Messi would deff underperform without xavi and iniesta ( it has been proved world cup and recent games without xavi and iniesta)I'm not saying it's bad b.c any player in any top team would underperform if 2 of the best players in that team were taken away and replaced with average player. Cristina Ronaldo is nothing without Di maria, ozil ) We must accept Messi and any player in the world needs quality players alongside to shine. Right now barca are really missing xavi and iniesta but I trust that Thiago can make it…xavi or iniesta weren't as good as him at that age .
No it hasnt been proved. Some of Messis best games were without Xavi and Iniesta. Hell, Iniesta has barely played half the games this season.
Messi can have good games without xavi and iniesta but he could never have an entire good season without them,. This is normal for any player. If you were to take out 2 of the best players in any team it would affect them greatly. Especially if they are midfielders who create chances. Every players needs to be surrounded by quality players in order to shine. Whether it is Maradona or messi or pele
any player would be performing better with the two best midfielders in the world. That doesnt mean he is not a marvellous player without them as well.
I never said messi wasn't the best player but he deff needs help from xavi and iniesta he can't do it all on his own
so you take the world cup and national team as an example of why messi plays bad without xavi and iniesta? havent in crossed your mind that messis failure at the national team has its reasons in THE COACHING maybe?? the overall team? geez man. your parents mustve dropped you quite a few times when you were an infant.
How many coaches do we have to blame? 4 different coaches have coached Messi and we always fid the excuse that "it's coaches fault". It's not. It's the players. Argentina have good strikers but they lack defenders and midfielders which proves that Messi ( like any other player ) needs quality players surrounding him. If Messi don't need good players to perform well , he would be just as good player as he is in barca when playing for argentina. He;s a good player in Argentina , the best. But without great players he can't shine like in barcelona.
After this string of draws I think we can really see how extremely unlucky we are to have Villa and Afellay away for ages at the same time while Pedro has an on-off and inconsistent period. I think Messi needs these guys too to have his centrifugal role clear in his mind. Alexis and Cuenca are very talented and hard workers too, but they're not fully into the system yet, in my opinion.
Mascherano should be 8, Puyol MOTM, 8,5 as for me. Alexis should get 6, those two situations should have been turned into goals, Messi the same, he disregarded that penalty, not for the first time this season. I think, that someone else should take shooting penalties, to be honest.. And that's why I miss Villa, a player who shoots every time in the other corner etc..
Wasn't Dos Santos substituted onto the pitch? Maybe I was too groggy to notice.. but if he was that is my point, I didn't see him doing much at all when he came on. Unlike Tello, even when he came on with little minutes he made his presence felt. Just my opinion..
thiago alcantara – only 6.5?!?!? kept things ticking over in midfield so well. found himself in the inside left forward position to win the penalty. great player. great future. much better than cesc.
http://youtu.be/R2PBOryOtaI
Pep is killing our players with that line up of 3-4-3, more possession? so we did 3 years on the row, more goals? We had more in the previous years, more shots on goal? Not the case is way less, more ticky tacka I don’t think so, how? Our players are afraid to loose the ball because they will be a harmful counter attack, more running from the players specially from the defense? You bet, if you got everybody running up and down on the field like indoor soccer guess what? More injuries more like to happen. So pep you might reconsider your line up.
1 – 1 is very good result away. Remember they're the 3rd ranking team in La Liga. Pinto should've been send of, Messi missed the penalty that kind of makes the result fair. Messi has not been in great form but he is always a threat. Made some runs where he should've played the ball.
the main problem i think is that we need to change THE PLAYER OF CONCENTRATION always.When Abidal is wih the ball there are few markers than when it is with Messi. in Dec we went through a win streak because sometimes Messi took the passes from xavi, xavi took the goals. when a lot of ball is passed to Messi like 5 players can crowd him but why not give Busquets a chance to score. Make Messi play at the midfield to drag players out while cesc and alexis does his job then Xavi etc exchange player roles
i think messi isn't playing with confindence i don't know why?, i think he should trust and pass to sanchez more, because as it was shown in the villareal match sanchez is fully capable to make a quick one two pass or run into space. just give messi a rest and i think he will be at his best again, if im not mistaken, messi didn't start in the real sociedad match back in september and barca were up 2-0 in 30 minutes sanchez assiting the first goal and played an important part in the second goal before his injury by dani estrada. its a win win situation, messi will have thatwell needed break and sanchez and tello or cuenca can find their feet and form