Barca Player Ratings: Copa del Rey El Clasico victory

Thursday’s El Clásico came on the heels of two consecutive Barcelona defeats at the hands of Manchester United in the Europa League and Almería in La Liga. Barça fans were wondering, understandably, how the team would bounce back from these recent results. What would their attitude be like? How would Xavi line up against Real Madrid? Would the back line for Barça hold up? In a highly anticipated match in the Copa del Rey Semifinals, these questions were answered. A 0-1 win, away from home, in a somewhat strange game for Barça: a more defensive one.

Barça were on the rocks for roughly the first 20 minutes. Real Madrid’s pressure made it difficult for them to maintain possession, especially with Luka Modric pressing unusually high up the pitch. They didn’t have too many clear chances (besides a Karim Benzema goal that was ruled offside), but Barça had quite a slow start. Vinicius Jr. got tangled up with Frenkie de Jong in the 20th minute, leading to a booking, meaning the Brazilian winger will miss the return leg at the Spotify Camp Nou.

However, at around that time, things started looking up for Xavi’s team. They began to string together longer possessions, calming the game down a bit. Suddenly, a costly error from Eduardo Camavinga in the 26th minute led to a shot from Franck Kessie, which Thibaut Courtois saved. The rebound off the Real Madrid goalkeeper bounced off Éder Militão for an own goal. 0-1 Barcelona!

The rest of the match would play out in an unfamiliar way to Barcelona fans: it was a defensive effort. Instead of defending with the ball, as is the Barcelona style, the side barely had possession in the second half. The defense held on to the lead very well, staying quite compact. Although the home side had more possession, there weren’t too many chances that really made Marc-André ter Stegen sweat. Xavi’s men were attentive and decisive defensively without being too cautious, which led to a good win in the first leg and a good response to their recent run of form.

Here’s how the players rated away from home.

Marc-André ter Stegen: 8/10

The German goalkeeper made very good decisions tonight. Coming out to punch away crosses when he needed to, grabbing a few others, and generally being rock solid at the back. Above all, his passing from the back was quite good. He didn’t risk too much, was pinpoint accurate, and provided some very nice balls to alleviate some of Real Madrid’s pressure. Wasn’t asked to save many shots, but did what he needed to do, and did it with some style.

Ronald Araújo: 9/10

What more can be said about Araújo’s defensive prowess? He was quick, strong, imposing in the air, and came up with a great sliding tackle to deny Vinicius Jr.’s shot at the beginning of the second half. Speaking of Vini, Araújo did a wonderful job of closing down his spaces and shutting him down on the right side. He had several key interceptions and headers in the center of the defense when asked to cover for his teammates as well. The only reason he doesn’t get a 10/10 here is his position. While it wasn’t his fault that he was playing on the right (Xavi obviously elected to play him at right-back with Vini Jr. in mind), I’ve never really been convinced by his playing there. His passing and link-up play has always been the weakest part of his game, and someone like Jules Koundé just looks more comfortable as a right-back – offensively, that is. Still an amazing match from the Uruguayan.

Jules Koundé: 8/10

Very solid game from him tonight. Defended set-pieces very well, was strong in the air, and was part of a back line that closed down spaces and didn’t let Real Madrid breathe inside the box. His passing and positioning also very dependable. Overall, really good performance.

Marcos Alonso: 8/10

To be honest, when Andreas Christensen was ruled out tonight and Marcos Alonso was selected in his place, I felt a bit of trepidation. My fears, however, were unfounded; also a very solid performance from Alonso tonight. The left-footed center-back had several key interceptions, tackles, and headers. Along with Koundé, two center-backs that didn’t seem to make any mistakes tonight.

Alejandro Balde: 8/10

Started off a bit shaky, losing a few balls early in the second half. He seemed a bit spooked by Madrid’s pressure at first, but as the game went on, his performance improved. By the second half, he was playing beautiful defense as part of this back line and came up with a key tackle to deny a clear goal scoring opportunity. With the ball at his feet, as quick and dynamic as ever.

Sergio Busquets: 7/10

Not much great or terrible about Busquets tonight. He did manage to spring a few nice passes and didn’t lose possession too much, which is always good. Defensively, he did a fine job helping out on set pieces and bothered Madrid’s midfield on several occasions.

Frenkie de Jong: 8/10

Frenkie’s match tonight could have been a 9/10, but I just didn’t see quite enough for that. However, he was very good, on both sides of the ball. His passing, dribbling, and defending were extremely solid. He’s become a terror for Real Madrid’s midfield, as he always seems to have great games against them.

Franck Kessie: 8/10

Another impressive game from Kessie tonight, following a string of rather impressive games. He’s really growing into the minutes he’s been given with Pedri out, and showing some clever passing and dribbling. His defensive work is great too. While he didn’t quite get the goal, it was his shot that caused it and gave us the lead. He almost got us a second score, too. Keep it up, Franck!

Gavi: 6/10

Not a bad game from Gavi tonight, but he wasn’t very involved in the match. He was tenacious as ever on defense, though (and got into quite a few scraps as well).

Raphinha: 6/10

Showed some danger going forward occasionally, but not quite as present in the match as I would’ve liked. Still though, not a bad game from the winger, as his pace gave the opposing defenders a few problems.

Ferran Torres: 5/10

Can we all agree Ferran shouldn’t play down the middle? His recent good performances came down the side, and I feel as if his playing down the middle just doesn’t suit him very much. Wasn’t able to hold the ball and link up very well with his teammates, especially in the second half, where he was dispossessed quite a few times. Despite this, however, not a blatantly bad match.

Substitutes

Ansu Fati: 4/10

Came on for Raphinha in the 69th minute, and while he did give Courtois somewhat of a fright with a semi-dangerous chance, he robbed Kessie of Barça’s second goal. He wasn’t able to get out of the way of the shot in time, eliminating Barça’s best chance of the second half. Other than that, not much from Ansu today.

Sergi Roberto: 5/10

Came on for Kessie in the 86th minute. Defended well near the end, but didn’t really have time to make much of an impact.

Overall, a good showing for Barcelona tonight, as they leave the Santiago Bernabeu with a 0-1 lead. Next, on to the second leg at the Spotify Camp Nou, where we’ll see if Barça can reach the Copa del Rey Final for the 8th time in 10 years.