Everything Barca
Fansided

3 Things We Learned: FC Barcelona vs Real Betis 2017/18 La Liga

By Benjamin Barkworth

BARCELONA, SPAIN - AUGUST 20: Lionel Messi (2ndL) of FC Barcelona and his teammate Gerard Deulofeu (L) walk wearing the t-shirt in memory of victims of the terrorist attack in Barcelona this week during the La Liga match between FC Barcelona and Real Betis Balompie at Camp Nou stadium on August 20, 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images)
BARCELONA, SPAIN - AUGUST 20: Lionel Messi (2ndL) of FC Barcelona and his teammate Gerard Deulofeu (L) walk wearing the t-shirt in memory of victims of the terrorist attack in Barcelona this week during the La Liga match between FC Barcelona and Real Betis Balompie at Camp Nou stadium on August 20, 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 3
Next
BARCELONA, SPAIN – AUGUST 20: Sergi Roberto (2ndL) of FC Barcelona celebrates scoring their second goal with teammates Lionel Messi (R) and Gerard Deulofeu (L) during the La Liga match between FC Barcelona and Real Betis Balompie at Camp Nou stadium on August 20, 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images)
BARCELONA, SPAIN – AUGUST 20: Sergi Roberto (2ndL) of FC Barcelona celebrates scoring their second goal with teammates Lionel Messi (R) and Gerard Deulofeu (L) during the La Liga match between FC Barcelona and Real Betis Balompie at Camp Nou stadium on August 20, 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images) /

Sergi Roberto in midfield

The versatile La Masia graduate was rewarded for his performance against Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup second leg with a start in midfield. Valverde decided to use in a box-to-box midfield role which suited him because of his dribbling ability and composure in the final third. Roberto repaid this show of faith with an excellent performance which was topped off with a goal.

More from Everything Barca

He had a good understanding with Deulofeu, and this was shown in his goal because his run was timed perfectly. For the first goal, he had made a similar run, but Deulofeu decided to try to find Messi instead. His ability to time his runs well gave Barcelona an additional threat, which was extremely useful for the person on the ball.

Next: Latest On Seri Rumors

The potential arrival of Jean Seri is likely to impact him because it’s likely to move him down the midfield pecking order. Regardless, this performance will have done him no harm. Also, Valverde seems committed to squad rotation and looks more capable than Enrique at achieving that. This could have been a tough game, but the Catalans negotiated it well even with a few key absences.