Playing for 90
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Barcelona player ratings vs PSV: Messi delivers the slender victory

By Atharva Khadilkar

(top row L-R) FC Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Clement Lenglet of FC Barcelona, Nelson Semedo of FC Barcelona, Ivan Rakitic of FC Barcelona, Sergio Busquets of FC Barcelona, Gerard Pique of FC Barcelona(bottom row L-R) Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona, Ousmane Dembele of FC Barcelona, Philippe Coutinho of FC Barcelona, Arturo Vidal of FC Barcelona, Jordi Alba of FC Barcelona during the UEFA Champions League group C match between PSV Eindhoven and FC Barcelona at the Phillips stadium on November 28, 2018 in Eindhoven, The Netherlands(Photo by VI Images via Getty Images)
(top row L-R) FC Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Clement Lenglet of FC Barcelona, Nelson Semedo of FC Barcelona, Ivan Rakitic of FC Barcelona, Sergio Busquets of FC Barcelona, Gerard Pique of FC Barcelona(bottom row L-R) Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona, Ousmane Dembele of FC Barcelona, Philippe Coutinho of FC Barcelona, Arturo Vidal of FC Barcelona, Jordi Alba of FC Barcelona during the UEFA Champions League group C match between PSV Eindhoven and FC Barcelona at the Phillips stadium on November 28, 2018 in Eindhoven, The Netherlands(Photo by VI Images via Getty Images) /
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EINDHOVEN, NETHERLANDS – NOVEMBER 28: Goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen of Barcelona controls the ball during the Group B match of the UEFA Champions League between PSV and FC Barcelona at Philips Stadion on November 28, 2018 in Eindhoven, Netherlands. (Photo by TF-Images/TF-Images via Getty Images)
EINDHOVEN, NETHERLANDS – NOVEMBER 28: Goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen of Barcelona controls the ball during the Group B match of the UEFA Champions League between PSV and FC Barcelona at Philips Stadion on November 28, 2018 in Eindhoven, Netherlands. (Photo by TF-Images/TF-Images via Getty Images) /

Barcelona put aside PSV Eindhoven on Wednesday evening to seal top spot in their UEFA Champions League group with one match to spare.

Barcelona sealed top spot in group B courtesy of a win against PSV Eindhoven at the Philips Stadium on Wednesday evening. The Catalans were unconvincing over the course of the 90 minutes but they did manage to score twice in the second period through Lionel Messi and Gerard Pique.

Their quest for a clean sheet was left hanging after Luuk de Jong struck a consolation for the Dutch outfit in the 80th minute range. However, PSV Eindhoven did crash out of the UEFA Champions League following their loss but the group is still wide open thanks to Tottenham Hotspur’s late win at the Wembley versus Inter Milan.

The victory in the Netherlands was Barcelona’s fourth successive against Dutch opposition and ensured that it ended their streak of three winless matches. However, as mentioned earlier, it was far from an ideal performance from the Catalans whose form has been going up and down really often this season.

Here’s a detailed look at every player’s performance on the night.

Goalkeeper- Marc Andre Ter Stegen- 7/10

Marc Andre Ter Stegen’s long wait for a clean sheet extended for a further 90 minutes at least after he failed to stop de Jong’s goal for the home side. The former Borussia Monchengladbach shot stopper made some textbook saves to deny the hosts who went from long from long range, mostly via Hirving Lozano. The 26-year-old’s ball handling was looking slower than usual and he failed to set the counters running. He should have done well for PSV’s goal which could have been stopped with a slightly better leap towards the ball.

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