While the scoreline could seem flattering for Luis Enrique’s men, Arsenal had a pretty good game plan up and till the first goal went in for Barcelona. On a night when a team performance was needed, an individual error from Mathieu Flaimini ended up costing the game and perhaps the tie for the Gunners.
On the wake of an amazing night at the Emirates, we take a look at Arsenal vs Barcelona Player Ratings, which saw Alex Oxlade-Chamberlin and Neymar be the outstanding performers for their teams.
Arsenal Player Ratings vs Barcelona
Čech (7), Bellerin (6), Mertesacker (5), Koscielny (6), Monreal (6.5), Coquelin (7), Ramsey (7), Oxlade-Chamberlain (7.5), Özil (5), Alexis (5.5), Giroud (6)
Substitutes – Walcott (6), Welbeck (6), Flamini (2)
What was Flamini thinking? when he lashed out his right leg at a charging Lionel Messi, who remarkably managed to reach the ball after Mertesacker’s poor clearance. On the positive note for Gunners , Ramsey and Coquelin had a great game.
They constantly ran up and down the field, and never give the likes of Iniesta and Rakitic enough space to play with in central midfield. Nacho Monreal was another notable performer for the Gunners as he managed to keep Messi to a quiet game, but still the Argentine scored twice.
Arsenal 0 Barcelona 2 Player Ratings
Barcelona Player Ratings vs Arsenal
Ter Stegen (7), Alves (6), Piqué (5.5), Mascherano (5.5), Alba (6), Busquets (6), Rakitic (6), Iniesta (6), Neymar (7.5), Suárez (6.5), Messi (7)
Barcelona goal keeper Marc Ter Stegen made two crucial saves in the game to ensure his team returns to Camp Nou with a healthy lead. He was ably assisted with the magical front three of Messi, Suarez and Neymar.
On the night, Neymar was the brightest of the three, and it was he who led the counter attack for the first goal for Messi. According to Opta, Barca went front defending a corner to scoring their first goal in just 16 seconds.
Image credit: getty
