From Messi to Lloris: Winners and losers as Barca add to Tottenham’s Champions League woes

In a stunning night of football, Barcelona showed up at Wembley and rocked Spurs 2-4.

It was a big win for the Blaugrana as they brought their three-match winless streak to an end with an incredible display that put them top of the Champions League group. Who were the winners and losers?

Winner: Leo Messi

The best player in the world announced before the season that he wanted to win the Champions League this season, and he played like it at Wembley. From the start he was playing with a different energy, chasing and harrying the ball like he was Luis Suárez.

And when he got the ball? Messi was absolutely ridiculous. He played three defence-splitting passes in the first half alone. One of them directly led to Barcelona’s first goal, another led to their second. It was an absurd display of passing that gives and indication of where his career is heading as he ages.

After half-time we saw the other side of Messi’s game as, without a quick strike partner, Messi operated as a one-man counter-attack from the magic man. Messi ran half the length of the pitch on two occasions, smacking the ball off the post both times.

He then splayed the ball wide to Alba and scored one of his trademark goals, passing the ball into the back of the net. He did the same in stoppage time, with both goals restoring Barça’s two goal lead and gave his side such serenity.

This was an absolute masterclass and we were lucky to witness it.

Loser: Hugo Lloris

This was Hugo Lloris’ first game since Spurs’ win at Old Trafford at the end of August, and it showed. The Spurs stopped was charging around the field as though in a drunken stupor. He chased Jordi Alba into a senseless position early into the game, allowing the Spaniard to easily flick the ball aside for Philippe Coutinho, and the Brazilian duly gave Barça the lead.

Lloris was then caught out three times by the same Messi shot, only for the post to save him twice. And then he came racing out of his goal again in the second half, somewhat getting away with it as he dispossessed Suárez only to run the ball straight into Messi. Toby Alderweireld bailed him out there, but at no point did Lloris look like a steady pair of hands in the Spurs goal.

Winner: Harry Kane

Big Game Kane strikes again. The striker had a poor first half as he struggled to get into the game, but in the second half when Spurs needed someone to step up and pull them back into the game it was Kane who obliged.

The Englishman dropped deep, fought hard, and when he was given a half-chance on his left foot he turned Nelson Semedo inside out to get a great chance on his right, burying it into the far corner and pulling Spurs back into the match.

The goal lifted Spurs to a genuinely palpable degree, the sense of belief around the stadium drove Spurs forward and allowed them to get back into a game they had no right being part of.

Loser: PSV

Spurs and PSV are both on 0 points in the group, and they play each other twice in a row next. This is bad news for PSV as Spurs will return from the international break with more of their heavy hitters fit, and then it’s going to be all guns blazing for Mauricio Pochettino’s men as they know that anything less than six points from six is going to leave them in serious trouble in terms of their progression to the Champions League round of 16.

Winner: Barcelona’s midfield

Barcelona played a 4-4-2, but with the ball Sergio Busquets, Arthur and Ivan Rakitic formed a trio as Coutinho moved forward. And it was this trio that held the key to Barcelona’s victory (well, along with Messi). Each one of them made a huge contribution to the win.

Sergio Busquets is the best midfielder in the world, and he showed why against Spurs. No matter how hard Spurs pressed (and at times it seemed like Lamela was out to kill the Catalan) they couldn’t ruffle Busquets’ feathers. He was coolness personified, as was his young partner Arthur. The young Brazilian midfielder belied his inexperience and put on a clinic at Wembley, looking Xavi-esque at times.

Ivan Rakitic didn’t play as well as his team-mates; he was often overwhelmed by the Spurs press, but he made an absolutely awesome contribution to the game with his stunning off-the-floor half-volley to thunder the ball into the back of the net. It was a truly special strike that gave the Blaugrana a 2-0 lead.

Loser: Mauricio Pochettino

The Argentine coach gambled on pressing Barcelona high, but for that kind of approach to work you need to do it consistently and in great numbers. Spurs pressed only sporadically, which meant that they were often leaving space behind their defence with no pressure on the Barcelona passers. A recipe for disaster.

In the second half, when they were chasing the game, Pochettino sent Spurs forward with a suicidal high-line. This worked to compress things for Barcelona and make life difficult for the Blaugrana, but it created so much space at the back that had Barcelona brought Ousmane Dembélé (i.e. a player with actual pace) onto the pitch they would have absolutely ripped Spurs to pieces on the break.

Pochettino gambled, and he lost.

Winner: Ernesto Valverde

Barcelona have struggled with 4-3-3 for the last few weeks (although not really because of the formation) and so Ernesto Valverde reverted back to the trusted 4-4-1-1 that won him La Liga last season. It was a gutsy move, but it paid off spectacularly.

Barcelona’s shape out of possession allowed them to deal with Spurs’ counter-attacks with more ease than in a 4-3-3; Coutinho’s defensive workrate was particularly impressive and prevented Kieran Trippier from being too effective.

The Blaugrana pressed with intelligence and organisation, making sure they closed spaces down and prevented Spurs from getting too many clean looks at their goal. And even though his refusal to bring on Ousmane Dembélé could have cost him the win as the Barça counter-attack was purely reliant on Messi’s skills, Messi delivered and Valverde got a big win playing his way.

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