UEFA Super Cup: FC Barcelona 5-4 Sevilla FC: Player Ratings

A detailed, player-by-player breakdown of Barcelona's thrilling win against Sevilla.

Marc-Andre ter Stegen

5.9

Minutes played: 120 Touches: 49 Passes: 34 Pass Accuracy: 85% Shots Faced: 6 Saves Made: 4 Clearances: 1 Bostjan says: 6.0 It's hard to blame ter Stegen for any of the four goals he gave up, the only one he actually had a chance was the second, but Jose Antonio Reyes placed that header very well. Though one thing is certain, while he didn’t make any mistakes that cost Barcelona, he also didn’t make any game-changing plays either. Ter Stegen was solid in the air game, claiming numerous crosses and making a strong punch out late in regulation. Positionally he was mostly solid, but on occasion he was left scrambling to get in the perfect spot.

Dani Alves

6.9

Minutes played: 120 Touches: 119 Passes: 95 Pass Accuracy: 92% Key Passes: 2 Turnovers: 3 Tackles: 3 Shots/Shots on Target: 1/1 Clearances: 3 Fouls: 1 Interceptions: 1 Bostjan says: 6.5 Active on both ends of the pitch throughout the game, Alves probably didn’t have as much influence on the game as he would’ve wanted to. He looked good on the ball, making a couple lovely dribbles and created some chances with his passing, but his influence faded as the game went on. Defensively his game was highlighted by saving a certain goal before Vicente Iborra would tap the ball into the empty net, but the Brazilian was far from infallible, even though he made a handful of strong tackles, as he allowed quite a bit of traffic on his side.

Gerard Pique

6.8

Minutes played: 120 Touches: 94 Passes: 83 Pass Accuracy: 89% Tackles: 1 Interceptions: 1 Clearances: 2 Aerial Duels Won: 3 Bostjan says: 7.0 To me Pique didn't really stands out either for good or bad reasons, even if he did become an almost immediate twitter sensation with his now famous rant about six referees seeing nothing. I mean, **** that, man. Like all of his defensive teammates, Pique too looked very human, making a few mistakes of his own, though he was arguably still the best defender on the night for Barcelona. He made several outstanding blocks and was very strong in the air game.

Javier Mascherano

6.5

Minutes played: 92 Touches: 80 Passes: 72 Pass Accuracy: 89% Tackles: 1 Interceptions: 2 Clearances: 2 Aerial Duels Won: 1 Fouls: 1 Bostjan says: 6.5 The influential Argentina didn’t have the best of games, but he was far from the worst Barcelona defender on the pitch. It’s hard to blame him for the first Sevilla goal as replays showed that Mascherano was able to touch the ball before he brought down Reyes. As for the rest, El Jefecito was pretty much always covering the man he was supposed to, but his teammates let him down on numerous occasions, something he wasn’t shy about voicing out on the pitch. Mascherano was moved to defensive midfield after the Bartra substitution where he made a great tackle to stop a dangerous Sevilla attack in the 88th minute. Mascherano was subbed off in the 93rd minute.

Jeremy Mathieu

4.8

Minutes played: 120 Touches: 70 Passes: 58 Pass Accuracy: 83% Shots/Shots on Target: 0/0 Tackles: 2 Interceptions: 2 Clearances: 1 Key Passes: 0 Turnovers: 0 Bostjan says: 4.0 Next to the first La Liga El Clasico this was arguably the worst game Mathieu had in Blaugrana colors - in both he played as left-back. The night started of pretty well for the Frenchman as he looked solid defensively and appeared to have picked up an assist in the 28th minute, but even though Mathieu continued to play well in attack, his defensive play struggled. It started late in the first half when he allowed too much space to Vitolo and continued with two mistakes that led directly to goals. First, he covered the wrong man, leaving Reyes open for a simple headed goal and then he pulled down Vitolo, after he lost position, for a penalty. He made a few more mistakes later in the game, but he made up for some of it with an excellent diving tackle in the 120th minute to stop a dangerous Sevilla attack.

Sergio Busquets

6.8

Minutes played: 120 Touches: 99 Passes: 86 Pass Accuracy: 93% Shots/Shots on Target: 0/0 Tackles: 3 Interceptions: 5 Clearances: 1 Turnovers: 1 Aerial Duels Won: 2 Key Passes: 2 Fouls Won: 0 Sam says: 8.0 Another good display from Busquets as he got his season up and running. His passing was precise and accurate, which is what Barça needed while Sevilla where pressing, and his defensive work was also good. Making a total of five interceptions he helped convert the ball back into Barcelona’s favour whenever possible. Although he could've possibly tracked back more for Sevilla’s second goal.

Andres Iniesta

7.5

Minutes played: 62 Touches: 50 Passes: 41 Pass Accuracy: 88% Shots/Shots on Target: 1/0 Turnovers: 2 Key Passes: 1 Successful Dribbles: 1 Interceptions: 1 Sam says: 7.5 A relatively straightforward opening game for the new club captain. After weathering the frantic start to the game, Iniesta settled into his usual game. Passing the ball with a crisp, accurate touch and dictating the rhythm of the game, he was second only to Gerard Piqué in terms of pass success rate. However, he left he field just after the hour mark with the score at 4-2 and Barça looking in control. Unfortunately for him and his manager Luis Enrique he could only watch the madness unfold from the bench.

Ivan Rakitić

7.1

Minutes played: 120 Touches: 105 Passes: 89 Pass Accuracy: 89% Shots/Shots on Target: 2/0 Fouls Won: 1 Turnovers: 2 Successful Dribbles: 1 Key Passes: 5 Tackles: 2 Sam says: 8.0 Before the game, Rakitić spoke of his love of Sevilla, a club that he captained. It was a special night as he became reacquainted with his old club and he didn't let the occasion get to him. His passing was superb and he was constantly looking to create chances for the team. He also put in a good defensive shift for the side, making two interceptions as Barça looked to seize midfield superiority.

Luis Suarez

7.5

Minutes played: 120 Touches: 53 Passes: 36 Pass Accuracy: 86% Shots/Shots on Target: 4/2 Turnovers: 5 Successful Dribbles: 3 Key Passes: 1 Fouls Won: 5 Clearances: 1 Sonia says: 9.0 He started off the match well, scoring a goal. Unfortunately, the goal was declared offside (though it maybe shouldn't have been). At the end of the first half, he had an absolutely amazing pass to Rafinha that resulted in a goal, adding one more assist to his tally. Later on, early in the second half, Suárez also scored a goal himself. It is only the beginning of the season, but he was an absolute beast this game and I'm looking forward to seeing his great connection with Messi.

Lionel Messi

9.1

Minutes played: 120 Touches: 123 Passes: 88 Pass Accuracy: 89% Shots/Shots on Target: 8/4 Fouls Won: 7 Successful Dribbles: 6 Key Passes: 2 Turnovers: 4 Interceptions: 1 Sonia says: 9.0 Amazing as usual. What else is there to say? Definitely not his best match, as was to be expected for the first official match of the new season, but still very good, as was also to be expected. He scored two mind blowing goals from two slightly insane free kicks early in the match, which played a vital role in the win (though this only became evident late on). Of course, as he also assisted the game-winning (and trophy-winning!) goal from Pedro, he was deservedly voted MOTM.

Rafinha

7.3

Minutes played: 77 Touches: 44 Passes: 29 Pass Accuracy: 76% Shots/Shots on Target: 3/2 Tackles: 3 Key Passes: 2 Successful Dribbles: 0 Turnovers: 4 Sonia says: 8.5 Early on in the game he made a few bad passes and lost the ball a bit too much, but he was definitely able to pick up a bit later. He had an impressive work rate though, as usual, and covered a lot for Mathieu, helping out our defence in the first half. He was an important part of the offence as well, of course, having a few attempts at goal, and making a nice run when he did score. He will definitely improve more this season if everything turns out well.

Sergi Roberto

5.8

Minutes played: 58 Touches: 42 Passes: 32 Pass Accuracy: 91% Tackles: 4 Kevin says: 6/10 The combative Catalan was put to use in a defensive role during pre season and also contributed with a goal against The Galaxy. A quick look at the stats shines a favourable light on Sergi as he completed the most successful tackles of any player in blue and red. For anyone watching though, either at home or in Tblisi, his performance left a lot to be desired. At no point during his time on the pitch did he impose himself on the game physically, contribute instrumentally to a forward move or make a hugely notable contribution in defence. The chaotic nature of the final 30 mins of the match left me thinking to myself about how much Luis Enrique would have loved to have Xavi on the bench to restore order to the middle of the park. Must do better, Sergi.

Marc Bartra

5.0

Minutes played: 43 Touches: 36 Passes: 29 Pass Accuracy: 86% Aerial Duels Won: 3 Kevin says: 5//10 Many among us, myself included, are huge fans of Bartra. Knowing full well that he has more strings to his bow than the notoriety he has found either for funny dancing on aeroplanes or for being outsprinted by Gareth Bale (rarely is it mentioned that he had badly hurt his hamstring at the time). It was somewhat surprising then to see him deliver a performance with so little composure given his obvious talent. The more statistically oriented among us will point to him winning the most aerial duels of any Barça player, however while he battled hard to compensate for his gaffes, it is hard not to be critical of two key moments involving the young defender. He foolishly stepped in front of Ciro Immobile allowing the Italian to slide a pass across goal for Yevhen Konoplyanka to slot home. At the death he also allowed Coke a free run and header on goal. Barcelona were blessed that he missed. A performance to forget from Bartra, perhaps a timely reminder that there are levels in this game and that he must once again raise his to suit

Pedro

7.9

Minutes played: 28 Touches: 28 Passes: 17 Pass Accuracy: 94% Shots/Shots on Target: 2/1 Kevin says: 9/10 Pedro looked lively from the moment he stepped on the pitch. He always does. Numerous times he cut inside either to square the ball for a teammate or chance a shot. Barcelona had looked pretty impotent in the minutes building up to his introduction, due perhaps to a lack of creativity in midfield and a fatigued looking Lio Messi. Pedro gave them some width so as not to keep the attack coming down the centre and was on hand to slot home the rebound from Messi's excellent, if deflected, volley. The speed of his reaction to the breaking ball was evidence that despite the donkey work he has put in defensively over the past few seasons, his goalscoring instincts have not dulled. If this is his parting gift to the club, then what can we do but say thanks for some fabulous moments over the last 6 or 7 years and wish him nothing but the best for his future.

The Team

7.0

Passes: 823 Pass Accuracy: 90% Shots/Shots on Target: 24/10 Tackles: 20 Aerial Battles Won: 63% Fouls Won/Committed: 21/20 Sonia says: 7.0 Okay, let's get through the good first. Hey, we showed resilience. We can bounce back to successfully win matches. We have another trophy under our belt and are still contending for a sextuple. Now for the bad - our defence was straight out of the 13/14 season. The second half of the match turned into a nightmare, especially from Bartra and Mathieu. We also definitely missed Xavi this match - we needed a player who could stabilize the game, set the tempo of the match, and keep possession. After Iniesta was subbed, we couldn't keep possession and we often found the players running after the ball. We started off the match with awesome and entertaining football which only further proved Barça's hunger to win the fourth trophy of the calendar year. The second half, though, was disastrous. The team was a little bit off everything this match - the defence might need work, but hey, we still won a trophy.

Luis Enrique

6.4

Kevin says: 7.0 There was only one real surprise in the starting eleven chosen by Enrique, with Rafinha earning the nod up front alongside Suarez and D10S, ahead of Pedro. The young Brazilian repaid his managers faith by finishing off an impressive move from Suarez. Barring a shaky start, his players dominated the opening hour and with a 2 goal advantage and 27 minutes on the clock, no one could blame the coach for making precautionary changes with an eye on upcoming fixtures. Sergi Roberto saw plenty of game time over the last few weeks and should be expected to impose himself on games such as these if he is to be taken seriously by his manager. Bartra is something of a fan favourite and was surprisingly shaky when called upon. You know exactly what you're getting from Pedro and Enrique will have been delighted to see him net the winner. A pretty terrible defensive performance and a clinical showing up front. Room for improvement , Lucho.

MOTM - Lionel Messi

87%

Bostjan says: Messi Well, the trend continues from last season as Messi once again upstaged everybody. When you score a sublime free-kick brace and add an assist on the title-winner, you really can't expect anything else. The scorer of the winning goal, Pedro, finished in second place with 9%. And for the first time ever in Player Rating history, we have a four-way tie for third place, with Suarez, Rafinha, Rakitć and Alves getting the same number of votes.

Source: Bostjan Cernensek http://ift.tt/1Jh6KTs