Lionel Messi marked his 400th appearance in La Liga with the opening goal as Barcelona eased to a 3-0 win over Levante at the Camp Nou on Sunday.
The Catalans are still unbeaten in La Liga this season and have Philippe Coutinho to come in, with the Brazilian expected to be officially unveiled as a Barcelona player on Monday following the announcement of his €160 million move from Liverpool.
It was Messi who broke the deadlock from a Jordi Alba assist, a combination that has proved fruitful on so many occasions this season.
The Argentine’s flighted pass found Alba, and the left-back headed the ball down for Messi, arriving in the area, to finish first-time in off the far post for his 16th league goal of the campaign.
The second goal arrived seven minutes before the interval, as Suarez controlled Sergi Roberto’s fine ball into the box before firing home.
Here, we focus on Andres Iniesta’s performance.
Minutes – 76
Shots – 1
Interceptions – 0
Tackles – 0
Dribbles – 1
Passes – 54
Key passes – 1
Pass Accuracy – 90.7%
Touches – 64
Aerials Won – 0
Effectiveness
A quietly effective display.
Barcelona may view Philippe Coutinho as the long term successor to Iniesta, but for now, the 33-year-old should not be replaced given his tremendous ability and his standing as one of the world’s best midfielders.
Although his stats have not been quite impressive as previous seasons, the Spaniard looked solid against Levante with 64 touches and a pass accuracy of 90.7%.
Iniesta’s greatest asset is his ability to keep the ball and open up space for his teammates to exploit, an area that he couldn’t fully showcase on a night where Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez dominated.
His timing and intelligence made him effective as he picks the right option at every chance, but the home side never looked like being threatened around the middle, especially with Paulinho and Ivan Rakitic excelling.
Key moments
14th min: Combines with Jordi Alba and Messi down the left and his pull back is cleared. The home side attack again and Luis Suarez’s effort is parried away.
29th minute: Sends a lofted ball towards the right byline which Messi gathers, but he is crowded out and Levante clear.
41st minute: Barcelona attack again and Iniesta sends a cleverly weighed cross into the box for Thomas Vermaelen who drives a weak header at Levante goalkeeper Oier Olazabal.
Our verdict
The significant question is whether Ernesto Valverde will revert to a 4-3-3 system or whether Coutinho is a direct replacement for Iniesta.
It would be a surprise if Iniesta is no longer first-choice given his influence in and out of possession – and most importantly his ability to open up and find space for teammates so effectively.
But he’s also 33 and, with Coutinho available, there will be games for which the veteran will be rested in order to stay fresh for the Champions League.
7/10
All statistics are compiled using whoscored.com
