Midfielders
Frenkie de Jong – 8 (75 minutes)
Thought this was a really strong game for De Jong, he was always in the right place at the right time. Often intercepted passes in the Barca box and controlled the tempo well throughout. Played that deeper role and did a good job dictating the play.
Oriol Romeu – 7 (75 minutes)
A much better game for Romeu playing next to de Jong as a double pivot. Got on the ball more, and looked more confident in linking play. Showed off his strength by winning the ball back on a number of occasions. Definitely a much better outing than his 45 minutes against Arsenal.
ilkay Gundogan – 6 (42 minutes)
Came off with an apparent groin injury. Subdued game by his standards, struggled to impact proceedings and didn’t really link the midfield with the attack. Did nothing wrong, but didn’t stand out. It’s been a quiet start to his Barcelona career after joining from Manchester City.
Pedri – 6 (65 minutes)
Struggled to get on the same page as Dembele at times despite setting him up for his goal. He was as tidy on the ball as you expect him to be. Moved the play on well, and rarely lost the ball, but didn’t create as much as you’d like him to.
Sergi Roberto – 6
Was late to pick up Joselu which should have led to a goal. He was tidy enough on the ball, he assisted the Lopez goal, but a lack of pace tracking back ended up getting Romeu booked. I like Roberto but you don’t want him playing too much against Real Madrid this year.
Fermin Lopez – 9 (MY STAR MAN)
Scored an absolute stunner to beat Courtois from outside the box and then registered an assist on a beautiful pass through to Ferran Torres. You can’t do much more than Fermin Lopez did in the time he was on the pitch. We heard from Pedri that Lopez was special, and we’re starting to see that.