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

By Atharva Khadilkar

03 Gerard Pique of FC Barcelona celebrating his goal with his team during the Spanish championship La Liga football match between FC Barcelona and Villareal CF on December 02, 2018 at Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Xavier Bonilla/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
03 Gerard Pique of FC Barcelona celebrating his goal with his team during the Spanish championship La Liga football match between FC Barcelona and Villareal CF on December 02, 2018 at Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Xavier Bonilla/NurPhoto via Getty Images) /
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2nd December 2018, Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain; La Liga football, Barcelona versus Villareal; Carles Alena celebrates scoring his side’s 2nd goal in the 87th minute (photo by Eric Alonso/Action Plus via Getty Images)
2nd December 2018, Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain; La Liga football, Barcelona versus Villareal; Carles Alena celebrates scoring his side’s 2nd goal in the 87th minute (photo by Eric Alonso/Action Plus via Getty Images) /

Midfielder- Carles Alena- 8/10

Carles Alena played a superb game after coming on as a substitute and within 20 minutes, he staked a claim for more minutes under Ernesto Valverde, which he will surely get in Barcelona’s Copa del Rey matches, starting from this week’s outing against Cultural Leon in the Camp Nou.

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The 20-year-old scored the first goal of his Barcelona career to round off a great move after chipping the ball over Sergio Asenjo. It was a good overall display from the young midfielder, who is pretty versatile.

Forward- Malcom Oliviera- 6/10

Malcom Oliviera was the final change made by Ernesto Valverde. The Brazilian winger was thrown in so that the Catalans could keep more possession in the final third in order to see the final minutes off when the score was 1-0. Malcom was not involved on too many occasions in the game but he made sure that the primary aim was fulfilled when he had the ball, and that was too hold onto it. Malcom will get a lot more playing time on Wednesday when Barcelona host Leon in their cup fixture.

Manager- Ernesto Valverde- 7/10

Ernesto Valverde fielded a team that was expected and went unchanged from the team’s win at PSV Eindhoven. The Barcelona boss, however, did not make a third change which was once again a questionable decision given that he has the resources to hand a few minutes of rest to one of the key men. Valverde’s man management is anyway horrible and even if he wins a treble for three seasons running, that will not change until he actually acts on the field.

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