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Barcelona lost points for the seventh time this season, drawing 2-2 against Valencia at the Camp Nou on Saturday.
Mouctar Diakhaby led Valencia to a lead in the first half, but goals on either side of the break helped Barça turn the game around.
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Lionel Messi headed home from close range after missing a penalty to tie Pelé’s record for most goals scored at a single club, before Ronald Araujo’s acrobatic effort took the home side ahead.
But Maxi Gómez’s goal in the 69th minute earned Valencia a point and further increased the pressure on Barça manager Ronald Koeman.
Positive
Barça may be struggling this season, but they hope it will serve as an important part of development for some of their young players. Despite the team’s disappointing performances, 18-year-old midfielder Pedri remains a bright light and young defenders Araujo and Oscar Mingueza are gaining valuable top flight experience.
Messi’s goal against Valencia brought him to 643 for Barca, meaning his next goal will move him beyond the Santos Pelé legend as the player who has scored the most goals for a single club.
Negative
It is one step forward and two steps back for Barça this season. After back-to-back victories against Levante and Real Sociedad, a third home win in a week would have brought them, at least temporarily, into the top four. Instead, they were limited to their third draw of the season, plus four losses, and with this kind of consistency it’s hard to see how they can fight for the title.
There are weaknesses everywhere. They are conceding too many goals from the corners, making too many individual mistakes, leaving huge gaps in midfield and missing a spark in attack. With so many problems, the ball finally comes to rest on the coach, who is not bringing out the best in his players.
Manager rating out of 10
4 – Koeman chose a team with no balance in midfield and his substitutes and adjustments to the system did not have the desired effect after the Valencia draw.
Lionel Messi failed to guide Barcelona to a victory that would have brought them back to the top four in La Liga. Getty
Player ratings (1-10; 10 = best. Players submitted after 70 minutes are not rated)
GK Marc-Andre ter Stegen, 6 years old – Good save by Carlos Soler, although Valencia scored in the back corner, and another by Gómez. He could do little with the goals.
DF Sergino Dest, 5 – He left large spaces behind him in defense, with Valencia’s second goal on his flank.
DF Ronald Araujo, 7 – I made a few mistakes in the beginning, but it got better as the game got older. Strong, fast and he got his goal very well, the first for Barça.
DF Oscar Mingueza, 5 – That Gómez is ahead of him by the Valencia leveler. Good with the ball and contributed in the attack as well, but that lack of concentration cost the team.
DF Jordi Alba, 6 – One of the best Barça players in the first half, but his last ball in the attacking third disappointed him. That said, his deflected cross led to Messi’s goal.
MF Sergio Busquets, 6 – He took off at halftime but he hadn’t done too much wrong. His mistakes were magnified by the lack of support around him in midfield.
MF Pedri, 6 – He pushed hard and used the ball well when he had it, although he did give it away cheaply a couple of times.
MF Philippe Coutinho, 6 – An improvement over recent performances, but not yet at its best. I woke up after Valencia made it 2-2, with a shot stopped by Jaume Domenech and another deflected.
FW Antoine Griezmann, 5 – He lost Diakhaby for the first goal and missed chances once more. He won the penalty that eventually led to Messi’s goal but another performance to forget the Frenchman.
OF Lionel Messi, 6 – He missed the penalty, but scored on the play that followed. It is not their best game of the season, but still the Barça player was looking to win the game in the last 10 minutes.
FW Martin Braithwaite, 6 – He worked hard but it didn’t feel like a huge threat to the goal. Her best chance, a header from a Messi cross, was stopped by Jaume on the line.
Substitutions
MF Frenkie de Jong, 6 – It did not start because he had a problem, but it started to offer dynamism in the midfield.
DEL Francisco Trincao, 5 – It comes in every game, but it doesn’t offer anything exceptional yet.
DF Clemente Lenglet, NR – Koeman attracted him when he switched to a back three later.
MF Miralem Pjanic, NR – It continued for the last five minutes.
Source: espn.co.uk
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