Midfielders
Frenkie de Jong – 7.5
Failed to track Oliver Skipp for Tottenham’s second goal, which led to a free header for the Tottenham midfielder. Outside of that, De Jong was his usual self. He was constantly on the ball, he showed a willingness to break the lines and get forward, and then when needed he slotted back into central defense so that Barca could attack more. Still the key player for Barca this season.
Oriol Romeu – 7
Started to get a little leggy towards the end of his game, coming off with just over 10 minutes to go. Overall I thought it was another strong game for Romeu who spread the play well, on numerous occasions he found Balde or Alonso down the left, and he had a couple of nice diagonal balls into the box as well. I was between a 6 and 7 for this one, as he did lose possession a couple of times towards the end.
Gavi – 5
Gavi looked as though he hadn’t played all pre-season, which of course he hasn’t. Had a chance to race through but was easily caught by Davison Sanchez, a few poor touches and a couple of fouls through frustration. He’ll play a key role for Barcelona this year, but he failed to have any impact on the game tonight. With how rusty he looks, I wonder if he’ll start on Sunday against Getafe.
Pedri – 6
Lots of nice touches around the centre circle, drawing a few fouls and showing some nice control. For me, his entire pre-season has been a lack of cutting edge in the final third. Xavi wants him to score 10 goals this season, and he’ll need to be sharper if he wants to achieve that. Had one chance that he blazed over the bar.
ilkay Gundogan – 7
Came on and helped control the game, and while it got a little stretched towards the end as pre-season friendlies so often do, it was nice to see him healthy and playing alongside Frenkie de Jong. I think once the action really kicks off we’ll see the best of ilkay, the most important thing today was him coming through his fitness. Let’s hope we can get him registered before Sunday.
Fermin Lopez – 7
Lopez wasn’t given much time to work, but he still managed to register an assist after getting his head up and perfectly placing the cutback for Abde. Other than that he didn’t do a lot, but if you come on and register an assist, you’re doing something right. In my opinion, if the choice is to sign someone like Lo Celso or give those minutes to Lopez, I’m developing the young Spanish midfielder every single time.