Barcelona slumped to a 2-0 loss against the Andalusians which has given Real Madrid full control over the title race.
Samuel Umtiti
One of the few bright spots from this match was the young French defender. He is mature beyond his years, and this is evident with his ice-cold composure under pressure. Regardless of the situation, he sticks to the game plan and stays professional.
The nature of Barcelona’s style of play means that the defenders have to hold a high line in order to constrict space, and they have to be adept on the ball in order to draw the opposition high up the pitch. Therefore, the role requires a high level of positional intelligence and passing. The fact that he has excelled under these tough conditions shows his sheer quality.
This match was even more challenging than usual due to the fact that he was partnered with Jérémy Mathieu for the first half, and Neymar was sent off in the seventieth minute. In comparison to Umtiti, Mathieu isn’t up to the level required. He is prone to making mistakes and isn’t the fastest, so the young defender was having to cover for his partner’s deficiencies. The sending off was significant as well because of the extra ground that each player had to cover. This inevitably led to them conceding a second on the counter, but there was little Umtiti could do to stop that.
It’s quite remarkable that he only cost £21.25 million in the summer considering his potential and how young he is. Based on that and his form, he may be one of the best summer signings in the world this season. He has a big future ahead of him, and hopefully the majority of that is in Barcelona colours.
Neymar
Football is a strange sport at times. A month ago, Neymar was the hero of the hour after dragging Barcelona through their Champions League round of sixteen tie against PSG with a remarkable performance. Whereas, in this match, which should have been a simple win, he was the villain. He was booked in the first half for provocatively tying his laces in the way of a free kick. It isn’t unusual for the Brazilian to pick up bookings such as this one due to his flamboyant attitude which he uses to wind up the opposition. However, this worked against him because he made a silly foul in the second half due to becoming annoyed at the way the match was going. He also sarcastically applauded the match officials as he went off, which may see him miss El Clásico.
This is one of the areas that he needs to improve on. A world-class player needs to be a role model to follow rather than a risk when the going gets tough. A great comparison here is his teammate Lionel Messi. In this match as with others, the little Argentinian was repeatedly fouled by the opposition due to their physical style of play which was used to break up Barcelona’s play. Messi didn’t complain, though, and stayed professional as he attempted to bring Barcelona back into the game.
Neymar may have the physical potential to be one of the best players in world football, but his mental side still needs work. Sometimes everything goes against you on the football pitch, and this is when the best players come alive. Hopefully he learns from this and produces performances more like the PSG match rather than this one when he is mentally tested.
Squad Depth
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This match brought up the issue of squad depth, which has been a recurring theme this season. The summer acquisitions were bought with the aim of eliminating the problem of squad depth. This issue was fresh in the mind of Luis Enrique due to the fatigue the squad had suffered in the previous season. The fatigue nearly derailed Barcelona’s season, and was a major factor behind why they were eliminated in the Champions League. Unfortunately, some of the summer signings haven’t been good enough.
The issue is highlighted when you consider Barcelona’s losses in the league this season. They have lost to: Alavés, Celta Vigo, Deportivo and Málaga. Currently, Celta Vigo are the highest in the table, out of all of them, and they are tenth. This is the one of the major differences between the Catalans and Real because Los Blancos have strength in-depth. It allows them to be relatively consistent, which is key to winning the league.
In the summer, the new manager needs to decide whether to keep faith with some of the signings, and assume that they took longer than others to settle. For instance, Jasper Cillessen and Umtiti have both played well this season. Denis Suárez and Lucas Digne have had mixed performances, but Paco Alcácer and André Gomes have both been poor. They all have age on their side, so it would be the smart decision to keep faith and bolster the squad using La Masia graduates.