Barcelona locked horns with Newcastle United at St. James’ Park earlier tonight as they hoped to secure a victory on the road in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League last 16 tie. The Catalan club made a decent start to the game but were held to a scoreless draw at the half-time break.
Harvey Barnes scored the opener for the home side in the 86th minute. However, Barca managed to equalise in injury time thanks to Lamine Yamal’s penalty. The contest finished with Hansi Flick’s men settling for a lackluster 1-1 draw away from home.
Let’s take a look at how each Barcelona player fared during the clash against the Magpies.
GK: Joan Garcia – 7/10
He made his fair share of saves during the game, but failed to keep a clean sheet tonight.
RB: Joao Cancelo – 7/10
He performed his defensive duties well and made some driving runs with the ball.
CB: Ronald Araujo – 7/10
Araujo was a positive influence at both ends of the field.
CB: Pau Cubarsi – 7/10
He gave a good account of himself on the defensive end of the pitch and was tidy with his passing.
LB: Gerard Martin – 7/10
He cleared the danger when required and was a strong presence in the air.
CM: Pedri – 6.5/10
Pedri anchored the midfield well but failed to make a difference going forward. He was replaced in the 69th minute.
CM: Marc Bernal – 6.5/10
He performed his defensive duties well and was substituted in the 72nd minute.
RW: Lamine Yamal – 6.5/10
Yamal managed to shine at times on the right flank and did well to equalise from the penalty spot in injury time.
CAM: Fermin Lopez – 7/10
He got stuck in with a lot of solid tackles and linked up play well with others around him in the final third.
LW: Raphinha – 7/10
Raphinha was a constant menace in the final third, but there was no goal for him.
ST: Robert Lewandowski – 6/10
He was quiet for most of his time on the field.
Substitutes:
CAM: Dani Olmo – 6.5/10
He worked hard off the ball.
LW: Marcus Rashford – 6/10
His impact on the game was minimal.
CM: Marc Casado – 6/10
He failed to get into the flow of the game.
ST: Ferran Torres – N/A
RB: Xavi Espart – N/A
