Barcelona lifted the Joan Gamper trophy with a 4-2 win against Tottenham.
For 65 minutes I thought Tottenham looked like the more dangerous team, but then Xavi injected some pace into the team with the introduction of Fati and Abde, soon followed by Lamine Yamal who changed the entire game.
Here are your player ratings for the game tonight.
Goalkeeper
Marc-André ter Stegen – 6
Not sure there is much that MATS could have done with either goal to be honest, but he did give the ball away a couple of times playing out from the back which is unlike him. A couple of nice routine saves.
Iñaki Peña – 6
Didn’t have a lot to do in the second half. Never seems as comfortable on the ball as MATS, but he didn’t concede a goal so no complaints from me.
Defenders
Ronald Araujo – 5
Came off around the 30-minute mark with what appears to be a hamstring injury. The first Tottenham goal came down the left and Araujo was flat-footed and caught too far upfield, allowing the runner in behind that led directly to a goal. Again, it’s not his natural position so we can hardly blame him. Barcelona absolutely has to get a new RB in this window, someone who’s natural in the position.
Jules Kounde – 6.5
Didn’t really see much of Kounde, and for a centre back that’s absolutely fine. His pace is handy at the back and his ability to play from the back is perfect for Xavi’s system. A lot of the time De Jong comes to get the ball, so not a lot is asked of him offensively. Solid game all around.
Eric Garcia – 6
Gave away numerous fouls on the night, and got caught ball-watching in the first half which led to a good opportunity for Solomon. Didn’t do a lot wrong overall, but still goes down far too easily and still concedes too many fouls. Also had a couple of stray balls, not being on the same page with his teammates. Overall not a bad game.
Alejandro Balde – 6
Was asked to do a lot down the left with Gavi constantly coming inside to create that four-man central midfielder that Xavi likes to use. Always a willing runner and defended well with plenty of pace, but wasn’t quite able to put that end product on the field. Balde is always one of the best outlets for Barca, but it didn’t quite click. I would have liked to have seen him play with Ansu Fati and Abde, but he was subbed as they came on.
Sergi Roberto – 6
Came off the bench for Araujo in the first half and one of his first contributions was to stand off Perisic and let him pick out Oliver Skipp for Tottenham’s second goal. You can’t give players like Perisic the time to control the ball, look up and pick out a cross from inside the box, can’t happen. In the second half, he was much better, defensively very sound and played the simple passes, which is all you want him to do.
Marcos Alonso – 7.5
I thought Alonso played really well when he came on. Constantly offered an outlet down the left, a real willingness to get forward. Put a couple of good balls into the box, forced the keeper into a save from a free kick and gave up very little defensively. His best performance of the pre-season.
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.
Forwards
Robert Lewandowski – 7
Good left-footed finish in the first half, and also set up Raphinha who should have scored. Stung the fingertips of the keeper with a driving shot from outside the area. He faded from the game and some mis-controlled passes in the second half were out of character. He gets a solid 7 on the evening, mainly for his goal.
Raphinha – 6
Good ball to pick out Lewandowski for the first goal, but should have scored shortly afterwards when he was left all alone in the box. Whipped in a great ball just before the HT whistle that Gavi should have put on target. A solid game from Raphinha, but he’s only getting a 6 for missing that great chance in the first half.
Ferran Torres – 9
Torres bagged his 3rd goal of the pre-season to tie the game up 2-2. Another goal where he’s in the right place at the right time, and it was a tidy finish too. I think it’s safe to say that Torres has his confidence back, and he looks significantly better as a centre forward than he did on the wing last year.
Ansu Fati – 8
Fati is making it a habit to come off the bench and score. He timed his run well to take the ball from Ferran Torres’s pass, looked up and fired into the bottom corner for Barcelona’s 3rd goal of the game. His pace and ability on the ball is desperately needed at Barcelona this year. Any offers for the young Spanish attacker should be chucked in the bin.
Abde Ezzalzouli – 8
It was good to see Abde get his goal at the end, he put in a good performance considering he only had around 25 minutes. Defensively he offered some protection for Alonso and going forward he was dangerous. He had a shot from outside the area that had to be palmed away, and then finished a nice move, slotting in from a Fermin Lopez cutback.
Lamine Yamal – 10
Was on for a minute or so before he assisted Ferran Torres with a lovely outside of the left foot cross. Also did well to beat the off-side trap by timing his run. He then spent the next 10 minutes absolutely embarrassing the Tottenham defence, with his skill on the touchline leading to Barcelona’s 3rd goal.
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