La Liga: FC Barcelona 4-1 Levante UD: Player Ratings

A detailed, player-by-player breakdown of Barcelona's strong win against Levante.

Marc-Andre ter Stegen

5.9

Minutes played: 90 Touches: 46 Passes: 26 Pass Accuracy: 88% Shots Faced: 4 Saves Made: 3 Key Passes: 1 Bostjan says: 6.0 Another game, another gift by ter Stegen. In what was a largely quiet game for ter Stegen, the German caused some unnecessary excitement midway through the second half when he missed the ball on an attempted punch out which led to an easy goal for Levante. It was yet another error by the young goalkeeper in what has been a shaky start to the season. Other than that his performance was largely excitement free as he only had to make a few easy long range saves.

Dani Alves

7.2

Minutes played: 90 Touches: 128 Passes: 105 Pass Accuracy: 92% Key Passes: 2 Turnovers: 4 Tackles: 2 Shots/Shots on Target: 0/0 Clearances: 1 Aerial Duels Won: 0 Interceptions: 4 Bostjan says: 7.0 Returning from injury Alves put in a very solid showing on the right side. Defensively he wasn’t tested much, but in attack he was constantly on the move. His crossing left quite a lot to be desired, as many of his crosses landed far from the intended recipient, but one of them, in the 56th minute, led to Neymar’s goal.

Javier Mascherano

7.1

Minutes played: 90 Touches: 76 Passes: 72 Pass Accuracy: 99% Tackles: 2 Interceptions: 1 Clearances: 0 Aerial Duels Won: 1 Fouls: 2 Bostjan says: 7.0 Mascherano was hardly seen in this game, which means he played a quietly effective game, even though there were a couple of moments in which he looked shaky and uncomfortable. Of the players in the defensive line, the Argentine was probably the one who was tested the least. The highlight of Mascherano’s game was without a doubt his passing as just one of his 72 passes missed the target and he was an impressive 19 for 19 on long passing plays.

Marc Bartra

8.3

Minutes played: 90 Touches: 92 Passes: 77 Pass Accuracy: 88% Tackles: 2 Interceptions: 3 Clearances: 4 Aerial Duels Won: 4 Shots/Shots on Target: 2/1 Bostjan says: 9.0 After starting the season on the wrong foot, Bartra has started to turn his form around and against Levante he showed what he is capable of. With the visitors playing mostly defense, Bartra didn’t have a whole lot to do on defense, but when he was tested, he always seemed to make the right play, seemingly never putting a foot wrong. Bartra was also a big factor in attack and opened the scoring early in the second half from open play, not a set-piece, after showing some great ball control. And if that weren’t enough he also added an assist on the last goal of the game.

Adriano Correia

6.2

Minutes played: 90 Touches: 79 Passes: 68 Pass Accuracy: 88% Shots/Shots on Target: 0/0 Tackles: 3 Interceptions: 4 Clearances: 1 Key Passes: 1 Turnovers: 0 Bostjan says: 6.5 Making a rare start at left-back, Adriano put in a solid showing. In true Adriano fashion he made some good plays and some bad plays defensively, but Levante failed to make Barcelona pay for those mistakes. In attack he wasn’t as effective as Alba, as his crosses often missed the target and he didn’t always seem to be on the same page Neymar was.

Sergio Busquets

7.3

Minutes played: 61 Touches: 46 Passes: 41 Pass Accuracy: 93% Shots/Shots on Target: 0/0 Tackles: 0 Interceptions: 2 Clearances: 0 Turnovers: 1 Aerial Duels Won: 1 Key Passes: 1 Fouls Won: 1 Sam says: 7.0 With many attacking players ahead of him, it was Busquets’ job to ensure the team wasn’t at risk to a midfield counterattack. He performed this job well through his position and his accurate passing. Levante did offer little going forward which meant Busquets task was relatively straightforward. With Barcelona comfortably in the lead, Busquets was withdrawn just after the hour mark.

Ivan Rakitić

7.0

Minutes played: 90 Touches: 96 Passes: 81 Pass Accuracy: 98% Shots/Shots on Target: 1/0 Turnovers: 0 Key Passes: 1 Fouls Won: 0 Tackles: 3 Sam says: 7.5 A much better performance from Rakitić compared to his season form so far. His passing was more accurate, he dictated play more and was all in all a bigger attacking threat. He completed a total of 81 passes with an accuracy of 97.5% which helped Barcelona to maintain midfield superiority. They weren’t just sideways passes either, he was routinely looking for a way to penetrate the Levante defence. He also put in a good defensive shift with three tackles and two interventions.

Munir El Haddadi

6.0

Minutes played: 90 Touches: 59 Passes: 48 Pass Accuracy: 88% Shots/Shots on Target: 2/1 Fouls Won: 2 Turnovers: 2 Successful Dribbles: 2 Key Passes: 1 Interceptions: 1 Sam says: 7.5 Playing in a more unfamiliar role, Munir did well as one of four attacking players. With Messi through the middle, he spent the majority of his time on the right wing and at times was a good outlet for Barcelona. He contributed with dribbles, passes and shots helping Barça to eventually make the breakthrough. Also with as many attacking players as Barça had, it was sometimes hard for him to find space to work in. Nevertheless, it was a good performance.

Lionel Messi

8.7

Minutes played: 90 Touches: 89 Passes: 61 Pass Accuracy: 85% Shots/Shots on Target: 10/4 Turnovers: 2 Successful Dribbles: 8 Key Passes: 3 Fouls Won: 2 Tackles: 0 Bostjan says: 9.5 Very exciting game for Messi who played behind a lone striker in this one, yet he still managed to fire off ten shots, though only four on target. One of those misses was against from the penalty spot, even though he converted a penalty not long before he missed the second one. Also scored a late goal after a lovely run to the middle. At time he was forced to take on the defense by himself, to mixed results, but I'm sure he would appreciate some more help from attacking teammates in the future.

Neymar

7.6

Minutes played: 90 Touches: 76 Passes: 62 Pass Accuracy: 69% Shots/Shots on Target: 5/2 Fouls Won: 3 Successful Dribbles: 0 Key Passes: 0 Turnovers: 1 Interceptions: 0 Bostjan says: 7.5 Still not quite himself, Neymar was a mixed bag once again, disappearing for large stretches of the game only to turn up the volume at one point to score a goal and win a penalty for him team. One of the most infuriating things about the Brazilian's current play is how he always tries to pass the ball to Messi, even though Argentine is covered by three players and he himself is in a position to take the shot

Sandro Ramirez

6.5

Minutes played: 90 Touches: 31 Passes: 19 Pass Accuracy: 90% Shots/Shots on Target: 1/0 Successful Dribbles: 0 Key Passes: 2 Tackles: 1 Turnovers: 4 Bostjan says: 6.5 Making his La Liga debut as a started, Sandro wasn't involved much in the game, making only 31 touches of the ball. Never really looking as a threat to score, the youngster did have a strong passing game, even creating a few dangerous situations with his ball distribution.

Gerard Gumbau

6.0

Minutes played: 29 Touches: 14 Passes: 11 Pass Accuracy: 100% Interceptions: 2 Kevin says: 6.0 Perhaps surprisingly drafted into the squad due to the long term absence of Rafinha, Gumbau replaced Sergio Busquets with 29 minutes left on the clock. Many have been left wondering what Sergi Samper has to do in order to get a run in the first team squad, but that's none of the concern of Gerard Gumbau who rightfully made the most of a fantastic opportunity afforded to him. In truth, his contribution was not extensive but he never looked out of place in midfield which is great news for a 20 year old rookie who has been playing in a losing team over the last while. I, for one, wouldn't object to seeing more of him.

The Team

7.8

Passes: 698 Pass Accuracy: 90% Shots/Shots on Target: 21/8 Tackles: 13 Aerial Battles Won: 53% Fouls Won/Committed: 15/8 Bostjan says: 8.0 It looked like it was going to be one of "those games" after the first half, but a quick breakthrough in the second led to an easier remainder of the game. Levante might not be a good measuring stick for success, but they came to the Camp Nou tactically well prepared and Barcelona had to put together a good game to win the three points. And to do that while testing out a new playing system makes for a good result.

Luis Enrique

8.0

Kevin says: 8.0 Sandro starting up front? Messi in midfield? Bartra opening the scoring? Barcelona are the only team to win all 4 of their Liga fixtures. Key players are missing at the moment and we're balls deep in a congested succession of fixtures. The manager continues to make rotations allowing for the rest of key players and believes in his full squad to get us through matches. Luis Suarez and Andrés Iniesta will now be fresh to return for a tricky away fixture Wednesday night in Galicia. Marc Bartra and Jeremy Mathieu look to have regained form/confidence over the last few games and a B player has been introduced into midfield without the entire system collapsing. With Alves back from injury, Piqué returning from suspension and the eagerly awaited return of Claudio Bravo not far away, Enrique has the boys in the right place coming into a packed set of fixtures over the next three weeks or so.

MOTM - Lionel Messi	66%
Bostjan says: Bartra Two goals and an assist and Messi has one more Man of the Match award. With a performance like that, even with a missed penalty, nobody could've gotten close to the Argentine. The only one with a small chance was Bartra, who finished in second place with 26%. Rounding off the top three was Neymar with 5% of the votes.

Source: Bostjan Cernensek http://ift.tt/1gN41nE