Barcelona v Arsenal – UEFA Champions League: Player ratings - Part 1
Following their 2-1 defeat at the Emirates stadium in February, Barcelona made amends against Arsenal at the Nou Camp on Tuesday, 8th March 2011 as they blitzed to a 3-1 win against the Gunners. Some might say Barcelona were aided by a few controversial
refereeing decisions, but the Spanish giants were clearly the better side on a night that saw Arsenal bid farewell to their UEFA Champions League hopes, for yet another season. However, let us take a look at how both teams performed in their round of sixteen
second leg matchup at Barcelona’s home stadium...
Victor Valdes
Valdes had hardly anything to do throughout the match, his team played most of the match in the final third of the field, allowing the Spanish goalkeeper sufficient time to rush to the nearest supermarket and grab some crisps and cola. In the first half,
Victor remained un-worked as Arsenal’s counter attacks were thwarted even before they reached the Barcelona goal. In the second half, Spain’s second choice goalkeeper could have done better from the corner kick which, led towards Sergio Busquet’s own goal.
As the ball came through from Sami Nasri’s set piece, Valdes could have shown more ambition by coming out and punching the ball away. Nonetheless, it was a solid performance on the night by Barcelona’s youth academy product.
Rating: 8/10
Dani Alves
A constant threat down the right wing for Barcelona, and a constant worry for Arsenal’s defence, Alves was not his best at Nou Camp on Tuesday night. The Brazilian wing back has been instrumental in Barcelona’s domestic title charge but fell short of associated
expectations this time around. In the first half, Alves tried to muscle http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Samir-Nasri-c32360 off the ball but the ex-Sevilla defender was guilty of allowing Nasri to rampage on the counter attack. Regardless, this could have benefitted Barcelona who could have exploited
the Alves versus Clichy contest on the far side. However, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Dani-Alves-c9869’s mistimed runs meant that he was in an offside position more often than not when the ball was played towards him. In the end, a favourable result for Barcelona will prevent critics from
piling pressure on Barcelona’s full back. Rating: 6/10
Eric Abidal
Given the fact that Barcelona controlled over 65 percent of the possession against Arsenal, their defence was at relative ease throughout the encounter. Most of what Abidal did on the night consisted of bringing the ball under his control after a long Arsenal
goal kick, and then spreading it to the center of the park to Xavi Hernandez or http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Javier-Mascherano-c18071. Additionally, in the first half, Barcelona’s French defender comfortably dealt with Robin Van Persie’s movement. However, Abidal and some of his defensive partners
were at fault for http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Sergio-Busquets-c33048’ own goal. There was a lack of communication between the markers inside Barcelona’s penalty area as Busquets and Abidal jumped for the same ball, an error that led to Busquets own goal.
Rating: 7.5/10
Sergio Busquets
Despite being fielded at the center back spot for Barcelona by Pep Guardiola, not particularly an ideal position for Busquets, the young Spanish midfielder did well to hold his own throughout the encounter. He was calm in possession and also joined in on
several of Barcelona’s attacks as the game progressed onwards. He was clearly at fault for Barcelona’s own goal as his mistimed header, coupled with a misunderstanding with Abidal led towards Arsenal’s equalizer in the second half. Later on in the second half,
Busquets was caught of position as http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Nicklas-Bendtner-c27726 surged through on Barcelona’s goal but a last minute tackle by Mascherano saved the Spanish giants just in time to seal their place in the last eight of the UEFA Champions League.
Rating: 6/10
Adriano
After hitting the bar in the first half of the match, Adriano kept up his work rate that contributed to his runs down the left hand side of attack for Barcelona. He was a constant outlet for the likes of Iniesta and Xavi whenever the midfield area was crowded
out by Arsenal. Adriano’s overlapping runs meant that Barcelona were always happy to play the ball to their spare man on the wing – an integral point to their build up play as a unit to dissect Arsenal’s miserly defensive approach on the night. By no means
a regular left back, the ex-Sevilla midfielder did well to fill in at Abidal’s usual spot and his industrious effort allowed Barcelona to gain a comprehensive win in the end.
Rating: 7/10
In the next part of this featured series, we shall take a look at the rest of Barcelona’s starting eleven and their performances in the Spanish giant’s 3-1 win over Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal.
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