Barcelona hosted Las Palmas for the first match after the final international break of the season this evening. The match promised much, with Xavi opting to use close to his best starting XI, with Robert Lewandowski as striker.
Neither team seemed sufficiently coordinated and chaos reigned from the first minute of the match.
Las Palmas held a fairly strict high line and were constantly able to find Robert Lewandowski offside.
But the Pole broke through once, and Raphinha managed to convert his shot. However, he was brought back due to a Incorrect offside call.
Minutes later, however, Palmas goalkeeper Alex Valle crossed Raphinha and was sent off for preventing a clear scoring chance.
The first half, after a ton of chaos, ended 0-0.
Barcelona went all out in the second half, introducing Joao Felix into the action around the 55th minute.
The Portuguese ended up making the difference, delivering an assist to Raphinha, who ended up scoring the goal he deserved.
Barcelona eventually finished the match comfortably and now focus on the PSG clash in ten days.
Marc-André ter Stegen: 7
He didn’t have to make any saves and had perfect possession, completing all but two of his passes.
Jules Kounde: 7.5
A much better second half from Koundé, who reversed to create a numerical superiority in midfield. Combined well with Yamal, Raphinha and Gundogan, and created a great chance for Félix which was missed.
Paul Cubarsi: 7.5
He didn’t start the match well enough, with Munir causing him all sorts of problems, but once he took control of proceedings the youngster’s passing was a joy to witness.
Inigo Martinez: 7
Much like Cubarsi, Martinez was spectacular with the ball at his feet, launching it on the attack to escape the Las Palmas midfield. I didn’t have much to do defensively.
João Cancelo: 7.5
Cancelo made some questionable decisions with his shooting, but also created two superb chances for Lewandowski and Raphinha, both of which should have been converted.
It is fair to mention the double roulette he made to sell two Palmas defenders who had the public at their feet.
Fermin Lopez: 7.5
One of the best ball of chaos players in Europe as he seemed to have control of the proceedings despite the madness.
Made some superb runs behind the defence, won possession on several occasions and was even at the heart of some of the chance creations, including Raphinha’s incorrectly disallowed goal.
Ilkay Gundogan: 8.5
Leading the show once again, Gundogan was untouchable for most of the first half, winning tackles in his own third and slotting balls into the opposition third.
Sergi Roberto: 7.5
Quietly had yet another impressive performance, playing a deeper role. He kept things simple, moved the play forward and pushed to get the ball back in a timely manner.
Lamin Yamal: 5
One of Yamal’s most boring performances of the season as he struggled to beat his man or find a clear shot from the right wing.
Robert Lewandowski: 7
He probably should have scored on at least one of the chances he had, but otherwise another solid game from the in-form Lewandowski as he dropped deep to free runners, displayed brilliant movement in the box and created shots to from scratch.
Raphinha: 8.5
A goal unfairly ruled out, but that didn’t stop him from scrambling. Had the goalkeeper been sent off and been at the heart of every attack, he perhaps should have converted his chance late in the first half.
Raphinha, however, made amends by finding the winner with a top-notch move.
SUBSTITUTES:
Joao Felix: 7.5
While Barcelona appeared to be in control of the match to a large extent, Félix proved to be on the receiving end of the winning goal with a sensational pass over the defence.
Was also otherwise solid, making runs behind the defense. Although, he really should have converted his chance from five yards out.
Ferran Torres: 6
He came on for the first time in two months and almost scored immediately.