Supercopa de España: FC Barcelona 1-1 Athletic Bilbao: Player Ratings

A detailed, player-by-player breakdown of Barcelona's Supercopa second leg draw against Athletic.

Claudio Bravo

N/A

Minutes played: 90 Touches: 46 Passes: 26 Pass Accuracy: 92% Shots Faced: 4 Saves Made: 3 Clearances: 1 Bostjan says: 7.0 Bravo made a strong case to the team staff that he should remain the No. 1 goalkeeper in La Liga once again this season. Not once did Bravo appear rattled, even though he at times had every right to be angry with his teammates. The Chilean made three saves, including a great one on Aritz Aduriz, but he was unable to keep the ensuing rebound from crossing the line which completely kill the tie.

Dani Alves

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Minutes played: 90 Touches: 101 Passes: 81 Pass Accuracy: 84% Key Passes: 2 Turnovers: 5 Tackles: 4 Shots/Shots on Target: 0/0 Clearances: 0 Fouls: 1 Interceptions: 0 Bostjan says: 5.0 Where is the Alves that was playing for a new and improved contract last season? Maybe he should be renewed one week at a time because we've seen the return of the Alves that we dreaded for large parts of the last two, three  season. He's careless on the ball, unsure in defense and, perhaps more importantly, at times completely unmotivated. With the short bench Barcelona have every key player will have to perform if the Catalans want to win anything, but Dani still looks like he's still on vacation.

Gerard Pique

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Minutes played: 56 Touches: 62 Passes: 48 Pass Accuracy: 90% Tackles: 2 Interceptions: 1 Clearances: 4 Aerial Duels Won: 2 Bostjan says: 6.0 Putting the incident aside, Pique had a very strong game. He was good in the air, probably the only man that was able to shut down Aduriz in the air over the two games, and was overall very strong positionally. He also had a fabulous chance to open the scoring already in the 7th minute but was denied by the crossbar. As for his sending off, extremely rare are occasions in which referees send players off for dissent, but they seem to follow Barcelona (see Alba, Jordi). I'm not saying Pique had every right to do what he did, but the referee's reaction and the one of the disciplinary committee is ridiculous.

Javier Mascherano

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Minutes played: 90 Touches: 103 Passes: 93 Pass Accuracy: 90% Tackles: 3 Interceptions: 0 Clearances: 1 Aerial Duels Won: 0 Successful Dribbles: 3 Bostjan says: 7.0 El Jefecito had a quietly efficient game, doing good in just about everything he took on, probably the only area in which he struggled was the air game where he would outmatched by Aduriz. But Barcelona's defense looked very solid with him and Pique in its heart. Mascherano brought added value in attack where he constantly looked to create something from the back, usually through accurate long passes. Though it's worth pointing out that it was Mascherano who (co-)led Barcelona in successful dribbles on Monday.

Jeremy Mathieu

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Minutes played: 90 Touches: 57 Passes: 50 Pass Accuracy: 78% Shots/Shots on Target: 0/0 Tackles: 0 Interceptions: 0 Clearances: 3 Key Passes: 1 Turnovers: 1 Bostjan says: 5.5 Compared to the Sevilla game this was a much improved performance from  Mathieu, but there's still room to work with, clearly evidenced by his "work" in the build up to Bilbao's goal. It might be unfair to compare Mathieu's attacking game to Jordi Alba's, but even though the Frenchman showed glimpses of good attacking instincts, he all too often disappeared from attack, leaving the Barcelona left wing unused.

Sergio Busquets

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Minutes played: 90 Touches: 73 Passes: 57 Pass Accuracy: 95% Shots/Shots on Target: 2/0 Tackles: 7 Interceptions: 4 Clearances: 0 Turnovers: 0 Aerial Duels Won: 2 Key Passes: 1 Fouls Won: 1 Sam says: 7.5 It was a real defensive slog for Busquets in order to ensure that the well organised Athletic team didn’t have too many counterattack opportunities. He contributed eight tackles and three interceptions which helped keep the opposition at bay. His passing was also strong as he registered the highest success rate of any of the Barça starters.

Andres Iniesta

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Minutes played: 90 Touches: 77 Passes: 62 Pass Accuracy: 82% Shots/Shots on Target: 1/0 Turnovers: 4 Key Passes: 3 Successful Dribbles: 2 Tackles: 2 Sam says: 7.0 One of Barça’s brighter attacking players as he was routinely looking to create chances on goal. Whether that be by drilling the ball into a position for him to shoot or picking out a pass that gave an opportunity to a teammate. However, similar to the whole team, his final ball lacked and was unable to create any clear cut chances. Passing wise, he was also surprisingly weak compared to his usual high standards. Making 62 passes with a success rate of 82%

Ivan Rakitić

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Minutes played: 67 Touches: 75 Passes: 60 Pass Accuracy: 87% Shots/Shots on Target: 1/0 Fouls Won: 1 Turnovers: 1 Successful Dribbles: 0 Key Passes: 1 Tackles: 1 Sam says: 6.5 A quiet game for Rakitić in which he struggled to get into his groove. He found space and time on the ball limited and didn’t have the kind of influence on the game that he usually has. However, he did miss a golden opportunity to grab a goal. Mathieu crossed the ball into the path of Rakitić, but the Croatian only managed to hit his first time shot wide of the post. Defensively he was okay, making three interceptions and looking to cover where possible.

Luis Suarez

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Minutes played: 90 Touches: 50 Passes: 27 Pass Accuracy: 63% Shots/Shots on Target: 5/1 Turnovers: 5 Successful Dribbles: 1 Key Passes: 3 Fouls Won: 0 Tackles: 2 Sonia says: 6.5 Suárez was honestly underwhelming the other night. He needs to step up - he didn't really penetrate the defence, which is supposed to be his job. I've been missing the hungry Suarez from last season - he has yet to show his face in these last few games. It's been a while since we've gotten a really awesome goal from him. That being said, he did provide a fantastic assist to Messi's goal, so maybe we just need to be patient.

Lionel Messi

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Minutes played: 90 Touches: 91 Passes: 66 Pass Accuracy: 86% Shots/Shots on Target: 2/1 Fouls Won: 2 Successful Dribbles: 3 Key Passes: 0 Turnovers: 10 Interceptions: 2 Sonia says: 8.5 Messi, of course, was excellent, as was expected of the GOAT. He was still obviously a bit fatigued, but hopefully he is fine by our next match. His involvement appeared limited because of the horde of defenders constantly shutting him down, but who else would score our only goal of the match. I am looking forward to seeing more of his magnificence this season.

Pedro

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Minutes played: 67 Touches: 45 Passes: 30 Pass Accuracy: 93% Shots/Shots on Target: 3/1 Tackles: 2 Key Passes: 1 Successful Dribbles: 1 Turnovers: 3 Sonia says: 8.0 Firstly, as we know that Pedro is now officially a Chelsea player, i would of course like to thank him for his longtime services to the club and wish him luck moving on. The last few games may not have been his best, but he has done well with Barça and he should be sent off appropriately with no hard feelings. Overall, the match was not too bad for his last wearing Blaugrana. He unfortunately missed one of the best chances of the match, but it could have happened to anyone, and, although frustrating, doesn't warrant too much criticism.

Munir El Haddadi	N/A
Minutes played: 23 Touches: 14 Passes: 6 Pass Accuracy: 100% Shots/Shots on Target: 1/1 Kevin says: 5.0 His contribution suffered due to a lack of possession up front for Barça. Got into a good position at the back post to volley from a Messi cross but scuffed his shot unfortunately. Did well to round his man and deliver a few crosses but each one went straight to a Bilbao head or foot.

Sandro Ramirez

N/A

Minutes played: 23 Touches: 12 Passes: 8 Pass Accuracy: 88% Successful Dribbles: 2 Kevin says: 6.0 Pressed intensely and consistently as soon as he was introduced. At that stage in the game, Barcelona were starting to be stretched at the back and had ceded some control of possession so his contribution was always going to be limited. Got himself into a good scoring position when Messi set Suarez through but the Uruguayan elected to go alone when perhaps the square ball to Ramirez would have better served the team. Drove at defenders using his pace when a chance presented itself but a lack of support ended the move.

The Team

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Passes: 656 Pass Accuracy: 87% Shots/Shots on Target: 16/4 Tackles: 24 Aerial Battles Won: 30% Fouls Won/Committed: 15/5 Sonia says: 7.0 Overall, the team was not too bad. Unfortunately, we were unable to beat Bilbao even at home, but at least an improvement could be seen in the football we played from last match. We missed a few too many chances - the players did well but just couldn't get the final pass to work out. Along with the goals we could have scored, the offence missed Neymar as well. Jordi Alba's absence was also felt. In the end, we could not make a comeback to win the Supercup, but i'm optimistic for the season and Bilbao can look forward to meeting us in the league.

Luis Enrique

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Kevin says: 6.0 The manager started with his best available eleven and right from the off, Barcelona pushed hard at Athletic, showing a varied attack that saw defenders become attackers and vice versa when needed. When Messi put the home side ahead just before half time it looked as though momentum was swinging toward Barcelona but the sending off screwed Enrique entirely. To his credit, he did not introduce more defenders, instead electing to introduce pacy youngsters who would go all out in attack and do their duties tracking back when necessary. It was a fine defensive performance from Athletic and that is not to be discredited. By and large, Enrique’s side looked menacing going forward and imperious at the back, they were simply outfought by the hungrier side on the night. He may well be worried about the number of goals conceded in the last three games mind you and must now focus his efforts there with a view to this weekend. Nothing more he could have done, chalk it down to a brilliant Bilbao.

MOTM - N/A	N/A
Bostjan says: Messi Even though not many players performed at their peak, any one of Messi, Busquets, Iniesta or Mascherano would be a good choice for the Man of the Match.

Source: Bostjan Cernensek http://ift.tt/1PCXUi8