From De Marcos to Tottenham: The winners and losers as Barcelona drop more points in La Liga

In another topsy-turvy afternoon of football, Barcelona dropped points again, drawing 1-1 with Athletic Bilbao.

The game was Barcelona’s third straight game without a win and paints the image of a club in a mini-crisis. But there are reasons for the Blaugrana to be hopeful even if their failure to win was absurd. The winners and losers:

Winner: Leo Messi

Messi was rested for the start of this game, but it was clear at half-time that he would be needed. Ernesto Valverde waited 10 minutes and then he called for his main man. Messi came off the bench and snatched the game by the scruff of its neck in that way only he can.

In his 30 minutes on the field, Messi saw more action than most players would in 90. He saw one shot blocked, one shot saved well by Unai Simon, a free-kick cleared off the line by Oscar De Marcos and even struck a beautifully crisp shot off the post. He also played two or three stunning passes (including one just before he hit the post), threading the ball through for his team-mates, and even set-up Munir El Haddadi for the equaliser when he seized on the rebound from his own shot that Unai Simon saved.

It was a masterclass of a performance from Messi in a no. 10 position, allowing him to exert a true influence on the match. The world’s best player found his groove immediately and was unlucky to only draw. But if this is to be his new position… duck and cover, sports fans!

 

Loser: Gerard Piqué

If you ever doubted in the power of beards, just take a look at Gerard Piqué’s last week of football. With a beard he helped Barcelona keep a clean sheet against PSV in the Champions League. Then three days later he shaved before game vs. Girona, and he’s been awful since.

Awful really isn’t even an exaggeration. Bar the last 40 minutes against Girona where he played almost flawlessly and scored a superb header, he’s been an endless cavalcade of disaster. He’s been slow to turn, quick to dive in, and utterly clueless where to stand.

Barcelona have conceded five goals since Piqué shaved and every single one of them has been his fault. Perhaps the first Leganés strike was only partly his fault, but the other four goals were 100% down to him. Against Athletic, he was stood about two yards deeper than his team-mates, who all perfectly pushed up and played De Marcos offside only for Piqué to keep him on and allow his goal to stand.

Winner: Oscar De Marcos

Oscar De Marcos began life as an attacking player, a flying no. 10. Marcelo Bielsa in his infinite wisdom moved him to full-back. Unsurprisingly (c’mon, it’s Bielsa) this worked and De Marcos was reborn as a marauder whose energy and skill saw him upset opponents arriving in key zones late on.

After Bielsa he was moved around a bit, but current coach Eduardo Berizzo has firmly installed him at right-back. Berizzo is aware that De Marcos is now solid enough as a defender to hold his own and when moving forward his intelligence and timing make him so hard to pick up. It was his run forward that created Athletic’s goal against Real Madrid and he repeated the trick at the Camp Nou.

With Markel Susaeta stood in an acre of space on the left side, looking for a pass, De Marcos streaked into space behind Alba and Lenglet. A defensive lapse kept him onside and he launched himself at the ball, flying kicking it into the back of the net.

Loser: Ivan Rakitic

If that isn’t the worst display Ivan Rakitic has given in a Barcelona shirt then he must have access to the Time Stone and erased the worse one from history. The Croatian is usually a stalwart for Ernest Valverde, incredibly solid and reliable at the base of midfield. But today he was utterly woeful, both in terms of his defensive help and his offensive contribution.

Defensively he didn’t really help screen the Barcelona defence, which he usually does so well. Then with the ball he was even more hesitant and wishy washy than he usually is. Time and time again he would get the ball in promising positions, panic, dawdle, and the chance would be gone. It was incredibly frustrating, but that wasn’t the worst of it.

With Barça chasing a late equaliser and with all the momentum behind them, Leo Messi clipped an impossible pass into his path, all Rakitic had to do was guide the ball into the back of the net. Instead he put it over. Then seconds later as their final attack was mounting, he gave the ball away with an absurd pass, killing the comeback. What a shambles.

Winner: Real Madrid & Atlético Madrid

Regardless of the result in tonight’s Madrid derby, both clubs have already won. Had the Blaugrana beaten Athletic then the pressure would be on for the Madrid sides tonight, because a loss would have seen them fall off the pace. Not by much, but in La Liga every point can matter.

Instead, Barcelona drew. This now gives Madrid the chance to go two points clear at the top of the table with a win. Even an Atleti win would see Diego Simeone’s men draw level with Barcelona on points – which given how poorly they started the season is quite a wake-up call.

Even a draw, which previously would have left both sides frustrated, is now not a disastrous result for either side. Basically, the Madrid derby should be a whole lot of fun now that neither side can really “lose.”

Loser: Spurs

Barcelona have had a hideous week. They drew with Girona, lost to Leganés and drew again with Athletic. They have Spurs away next, and perhaps you’d think this is a good time to play Barcelona. But here’s the thing, they aren’t going to keep on being this terrible. Hell, even against Athletic Club, the signs were there that Valverde was starting to figure things out.

Firstly, the side’s defensive shambles was reduced to one absurd error from Gerard Piqué. Athletic didn’t rain chances down on Barcelona as the Blaugrana dealt well with the Basque counter-attacks. Secondly, Valverde appears to have finally realised that 4-3-3 with Coutinho in midfield doesn’t work from a defensive standpoint. The Brazilian played the whole game in left-wing, first in a 4-3-3, then a 4-2-3-1.

And it’s that 4-2-3-1 which could be Spurs’ undoing. It places Messi in a central role, free from defensive responsibilities, and Messi was truly spectacular after he came on. It has better spacing, especially out-wide which Ousmane Dembélé, Nelson Semedo and Jordi Alba proved (although more movement from the strikers would have helped them). It allows them to play faster a cage opponents in their own half, too.

Barcelona were unlucky to draw against Athletic, with the Basque side getting several slices of luck to preserve the result. Overall, it’s clear that Barça are finally clicking into gear and Spurs (who desperately need a win in the Champions League after losing to Inter) are the next side in their sights. Not a good place to be.

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