FC Barcelona vs RCD Espanyol Match Review

FC Barcelona 4 - 1 RCD Espanyol

Fc Barcelona bounce back after a Champions League 2-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid, in a win the the Catalan derby. The starting lineup in today's match suprised me quite a bit. While I understand furthering the lead from Real Madrid at the top of the league, it seemed rather interesting to start Pedri after getting benched at halftime on Wednesday. I expected to have a midfield of Eric Garcia, Gavi and Fermin, while Roony playing on the left or Lamine playing a false nine, Roony on the right and Rashford on the left. What I will say is the even Pep Guardiola started Messi when it seemed he needed to rest up for an important game. Why, because that's what world class players do. They play every match, put the game away early in the first half and sit the of the second half. Lamine Yamal is an extremley crucial player for Barcelona, often there is not much creativity with him and Pedri out.

Lamine Yamal shines once again, and that's not normal. How many times must one say this kid is 18 years old. One goal and two assists as he wins the Man of the Match of the Catalan Derby. It is quite wild to see the level of play his is attacking at. I'm not going to compare to him to Messi because that's not a fair comparison, but his importance to the team is at that level. His assist to Ferran came from seemingly nothing to a beautiful trivela pass through on goal. While I think he should have sat out at the half, world class players play games. They don't hide from minutes or small matches, they put them out of hand, and that's exactly what Yamal did today.

The shark, Ferrran Torres, seems to be feeling a bit more confident after his brace today. While he hasn't scored in 14 games for Barcelona, he still has put up 16 goals in all competitions. This is not a small feat, but rather showing he can have some influence in matches. For the upcoming Atletico game, if he gets minutes, he needs to convert his opportunities. Similar to Rashford, they both have many big chances missed, and if Barcelona hope to win La Liga and the Champions league, they must convert.

Alejandro Balde, what is there to say I haven't said before. He reminds me of a better Nelson Semedo, which by no means is a dig at Semedo, but rather the level of play. Balde gives Barcelona a boost defensively because of his defensive workrate, but his poor offensive plays leave much to be desired. In Hansi Flick's system, he'd rather rely on the offensive to outscore opponents than the defensive to be a fortifed wall. Which is why Cancelo will always start over Balde. Joao Cancelo game awareness, offensive intensity, and build play make him a perfect left back for Flick's system. Like I've said before, I don't mind the signing of Cancelo if the price is reasonably low. Balde, Gerard Martin, and Kounde can alll learn from him. However, from his appearences so far, and his starts over Balde, I have not seen Balde improve. If he wants to retake the starting spot, he needs to be more decisive in the final third, whip in dangerous crosses, and attack the goal.

Overall, Barcelona's defensive line over the last two years has been rather lax in defense. Often times allowing goals through a simple held run and ball over the top or through the defensive lines. It starts to become an issue when the offensive line cannot produce goals, and the defense cannot contain the match. This match was going to take a similar route until Barcelona picked it up offensively. The only goal Espanyol scored was from a solid cross from the right wing, which the forward go to first due to Cubarsi's late tracking, leading to a goal off the rebound. Barcelona knows this all too well, in the semi-final against Inter Milan, Araujo let his man get in front of him, leading to a simple tap-in. The defensive line needs to be more on alert, its unacceptable to give up a red card to Simeone by not tracking him properly and letting him through on goal with a simple ball in behind. That is not the standard of FC Barcelona. Cubarsi is young and needs to be paired with an experience center back, while Araujo's form has dropped and needs to be on the bench.