Barcelona player ratings vs Villarreal: Messi wasn’t at his best

Defensive Midfielder- Sergio Busquets- 8.5/10

Villarreal played a 4-2-3-1 formation and defended with six men at times, so the best person to bypass and counter their attacking was none other Sergio Busquets, who unsurprisingly shined against them. Pablo Fornals was the visitors’ main threat and Busquets dealt with him in an awesome manner. There were also some dirty moments between the two. Busquets’ passing from the back was fabulous and helped the Barcelona forwards a lot. The 30-year-old will now get a week’s rest until Barcelona’s next game and deservingly so.

Right Midfielder- Ivan Rakitic- 7.5/10

Ivan Rakitic looked decent throughout the game but it felt that his involvement in the match was a little less, particularly because of Ousmane Dembele and Nelson Semedo were keeping hold of the ball on the flank. Nonetheless, the former Sevilla midfielder played out over 100 accurate passes and finished the match with a passing accuracy of 96%. He is capable of putting in better displays but this one was just a one-off from an otherwise consistent player.

Left Midfielder- Arturo Vidal- 6.5/10

Arturo Vidal was not at his best and looked extremely off colour in the Villarreal match. Most of the former Bayern Munich midfielder’s passes were played behind and he did not even look present while going forward. Plus, the visitors’ midfielder Manu Trigueros gave him a tough time before Vidal was eventually subbed off a little later than the hour mark. He will probably be in the squad for Barcelona’s cup game on Wednesday given that they do not have enough players due to injuries.