Barcelona’s worries in La Liga continued as they succumbed to an embarrassing 3-1 defeat at Levante, in a fixture where five different players picked up yellow cards. Luis Suarez was subbed off very early into the game with an injury, and was replaced by Carles Perez. Although Barcelona took the lead through a Leo Messi penalty in the first half, their overall performance was shocking, to say the least. At the end of the night, Levante deserved all three points in an excellent display by the Spanish minnows.
Here are the Barcelona Player Ratings:
M.A. Ter Stegen – 6
The German didn’t have the best of outings, but to be fair nor did any of the Barcelona players. Couldn’t do much about a couple of Levante goals but should’ve kept out the 2nd one.
Sergi Roberto – 5
Was basically invisible for most of the game as he offered nothing going forward either. Had what was possibly one of his worst performances in a Barcelona shirt ever.
Gerard Pique – 5.5
Did his duties well in the first half but as the game wore on, like the rest of the Barcelona defence, seemed to capitulate. Made some important blocks to limit Levante to three.
Clement Lenglet – 4
Unlike his centre-half partner, the Frenchman was poor right from the off as he showed no signs of solidity in the first half. His second-half display was no better.
Nelson Semedo – 6
The only Barcelona defender who didn’t pick up a booking on the night, Semedo tried really hard to make some sort of impact in the first half, to no avail.
Arturo Vidal – 5.5
Offered nothing in terms of attacking potential and sat back to try and protect a defence that just seemed to be having an off day. He was replaced by Busquets in the second half.
Frenkie De Jong – 7
Unquestionably the Catalan giants’ best player on the night, De Jong controlled the pace of the game in the first half and ensured that the ball was moving from midfield.
Arthur – 6
The youngster did well to operate down the left side of midfield in the first half. However, he was defensively vulnerable like the rest of his Barcelona players. Needs to work on his defensive positioning.
Lionel Messi – 6
The Argentine scored the penalty with ease and was trying to make things happen for Barcelona in typical fashion. Didn’t offer too much in the second half.
Luis Suarez – 5
Came off in the first half due to an injury but didn’t really offer too much in the 40 minutes he was on the pitch either.
Antoine Griezmann – 6
The Frenchman, like the rest of the Barcelona players, wasn’t at his best today, as he huffed and puffed his way through the ninety minutes, with no real penetration.
Substitutes
Carles Perez – 5.5
Came on for the injured Suarez but didn’t have the impact he would’ve hoped for. Showed moments of quality but needs to improve his decision making in the final third.
Sergio Busquets – 4.5
Thrown on in the second half to try and bring a degree of control to the midfield, but failed miserably as he was simply overrun by the energy of the Levante players.
Ansu Fati – 6
Came on in place of Arthur in the second period and showed signs of the talent that motivated Barcelona to sign him in the first place.
