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Barcelona player ratings vs Real Valladolid: Bad day for Lionel Messi

By Atharva Khadilkar

VALLADOLID, SPAIN - AUGUST 25: Marc-Andre ter Stegen of FC Barcelona saves a possible goal during the La Liga match between Real Valladolid CF and FC Barcelona at Jose Zorrilla on August 25, 2018 in Valladolid, Spain. (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)
VALLADOLID, SPAIN - AUGUST 25: Marc-Andre ter Stegen of FC Barcelona saves a possible goal during the La Liga match between Real Valladolid CF and FC Barcelona at Jose Zorrilla on August 25, 2018 in Valladolid, Spain. (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images) /
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VALLADOLID, SPAIN – AUGUST 25: Ivan Rakitic of FC Barcelona in action during the La Liga match between Real Valladolid CF and FC Barcelona at Jose Zorrilla on August 25, 2018 in Valladolid, Spain. (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)
VALLADOLID, SPAIN – AUGUST 25: Ivan Rakitic of FC Barcelona in action during the La Liga match between Real Valladolid CF and FC Barcelona at Jose Zorrilla on August 25, 2018 in Valladolid, Spain. (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images) /

Defensive Midfield- Sergio Busquets- 7/10

Sergio Busquets was one of Barcelona’s decent players on the rough away patch. The 30 year old made five fouls, all of which at least seemed tactical to make sure that the Peculans had few chances to go on goal. Valladolid surely tried to disrupt Barcelona’s possession based game but Sergio Busquets rose up to the occasion. Next to Ter Stegen, he was Barcelona’s best defensive contributor in my opinion.

Right Midfielder- Ivan Rakitic- 5/10

Ivan Rakitic had a very busy time last season with club and country but was immediately introduced to the squad following his return from Croatian duty. In the team’s first away outing of the season, the former Sevilla man and current Paris Saint-Germain target was poor. His low cross which was nowhere near Luis Suarez, along with a hilarious hand ball summed up his night. While that would not determine his place in the starting eleven for future games, he surely would want to improve.

Left Midfielder- Phillippe Coutinho- 5/10

The Brazil international was starting last night after some top performances off the bench and even for his national team. The main motive of playing him slightly behind the left winger was to take the creative burden off Lionel Messi’s shoulders. While he did attempt his share, he was kept silent through the night by Real Valladolid’s organized defensive structure. From what we have seen from the former Liverpool man’s positioning in the midfield, it seems that the left winger role is the perfect for him but Dembele doesn’t deserve to be sacrificed either.

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