Barcelona 2-0 Inter: the major winners and losers as King Arthur is crowned at Camp Nou

In a calm and composed night at the Camp Nou, Barcelona beat Inter 2-0.

The victory allows the Blaugrana to take control of Champions League Group B with a perfect three wins out of three, giving them nine points. Inter remain in second on six points, but will they regret missing this chance? Here were the winners and losers:

Winner: Luis Suárez

When Leo Messi went down injured, Luis Suárez became the most important player in the Barcelona attack. Suddenly all his poor form nonsense was no longer something the Blaugrana could afford; without Messi they couldn’t carry Suárez, he was going to have to perform.

And perform is exactly what he did. The Uruguayan was absolutely sensational against Inter, as close to his vintage best as he has been for about a year. Pressing, harrying, passing, probing.

The Uruguayan was everywhere, in a very good way. With the exception of dead sprints, Inter simply couldn’t live with him. Barcelona’s first goal, the major turning point in the game, was almost entirely a product of Suárez’s genius as he picked out Rafinha with an inch-perfect pass that sailed all the way around Inter’s excellent defenders.

Loser: Ousmane Dembélé

When Ernesto Valverde switched to a 4-4-1-1 to protect against counter-attacks, Ousmane Dembélé was dropped from Barcelona’s XI despite being their second top-scorer. It was a safety-first move from a safety-first manager, but it enabled Messi “to Messi” essentially. So ok.

Except when Messi went down injured against Sevilla, Dembélé came on for him and created three great chances in the rest of the game (including one absolute sitter for Ivan Rakitic) but in the last 15 minutes of the game he started giving the ball away so casually. This cost him his spot for the game against Inter, and given how well his replacement played it could be a long, long while before he starts again.

Winner: Rafinha

Barcelona spent the entire summer trying to sell Rafinha only to fail because literally no one wanted to pay money for him. That’s absurd on one hand because Rafinha can actually be quite good, but he’s only sporadically shown it for Barcelona.

That made Ernesto Valverde’s decision to include him in tonight’s starting XI rather odd. Especially as he left the more talented wingers Ousmane Dembélé and Malcom on the bench. Rafinha even started the match in sluggish form, not looking sharp.

But then he picked the ball up in the middle of the pitch, skipped away from a tackle and fed the ball out wide to Luis Suárez. The Uruguayan pinged a gorgeous cross back into the box and Rafinha tapped home to give Barça the lead and a huge advantage.

Rafinha then played well, with an assurance and confidence that comes from having the manager’s backing and, y’know, a goal in the Champions League. He pressed well, passed well, and just kept things ticking over. He wasn’t a superb source of genius as Dembélé or Malcom would have been, but he was solid and dependable, which is exactly what Valverde wanted from him.

Loser: Inter

No Messi, El Clásico at the weekend, this was Inter’s big chance to claim a colossal scalp at the Camp Nou. And, well, they blew it. With Spurs only drawing in Eindhoven and a trip to Wembley still to come, this was where Inter should have pulled away.

Yet they played with such lethargy and a lack of focus that one would never have known so much was at stake. They sat off at the start, which is fair enough, but even when they went 1-0 down they never pushed up and tried to steal an equaliser even against a rickety Barcelona defence (that hasn’t kept a clean sheet since their last home game in the Champions League vs. PSV).

What’s so crazy is that when Inter did push up down the wings and send crosses into the box, they looked to trouble Barcelona. But they did this so rarely that Mauro Icardi barely saw the ball all night.

Winner: Sergio Busquets

The greatest midfielder in the world usually gets his magic get overshadowed by Leo Messi. Not tonight. Busquets stood tall in the middle of the park and ran the show with Arthur. The Catalan midfielder was wearing the captain’s armband tonight and was omnipresent. Wherever Inter were, so was Busquets. They couldn’t expose him no matter how hard they tried. He even ritually humiliated poor Lautaro Martinez in the second half, flicking the ball over his head with an almost insulting nonchalance. This was Busquets at his brilliant best.

Loser: Spurs

It may be reasonable to think that, with Inter losing, Spurs are actually winners here. This defeat keeps them closer to Mauricio Pochettino’s men with a game at Wembley still to come. However the reason Spurs are losers here is because had they simply kept their heads and seen out the result in Eindhoven, they would now be just three points behind Inter. But they threw the game away against PSV and so now even if they beat PSV at home and Inter lose to Barça, the Italians know a draw at Wembley will keep them qualifying. Not good.

Winner: Arthur

It’s been over three years since Xavi left Barcelona. It’s been over five years since Xavi was the all-conquering world-dominating playmaker that we all remember him as (rest assured that Father Time comes for everyone eventually). Barcelona had a succession plan with Thiago Alcantara, but he absconded to Bayern over a lack of playing time. So what now?

Enter Arthur. In an era where Brazil only seem capable of producing powerful athletes in the middle of midfield, here comes Arthur. This baffling brilliant Brazilian who looks like he rolled fresh off the La Masia production line. He’s been at Barcelona four months but the assurance with which he plays makes it look like it could be fourteen years.

Arthur is simply ridiculous. The Xavi replacement that Barça have been crying out for. His display at Wembley was great, but this was his first truly big game at the Camp Nou and he delivered in spades. Drifting away from markers, passing the ball about with relentless rhythm and keeping that ol’ passing carousel turning. His quality was perhaps best described by the fact that when Ernesto Valverde took him off with about 15 minutes left to play, the Camp Nou actively whistled the decision.

They call Arturo Vidal “King Arthur,” but judging on tonight’s display, the Chilean has been deposed and replaced by this genius from Gremio. Arise Arthur, second of his name, Sultan of the Swivel, Pharaoh of the Pass, King of the Camp Nou.

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