Mixed bag from Dembele and other things learned from Barcelona's win over Levante

Andy West 22:52 07/01/2018
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  • 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.

    Messi’s 365th goal in Spain’s top flight came inside 12 minutes, with Luis Suarez adding the second before the interval and Paulinho completing the victory late on as Barcelona stretched their lead at the top of the table back to nine points over Atletico Madrid.

    But 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 second goal arrived seven minutes before the interval, as Suarez controlled Sergi Roberto’s fine ball into the box before firing home.

    It was the Uruguayan’s 400th professional goal, his 131st for Barca putting him seventh on the club’s all-time list of leading scorers.

    Here’s a look at what we learned from the encounter.

    Mixed bag from Dembele

    Ousmane Dembele was a surprise selection in the starting line-up from Ernesto Valverde, and at times even the French winger himself looked like he didn’t expect to be out there.

    This was a real mixed performance from the former Borussia Dortmund. There were flashes of skill and moments of promise, especially after 25 minutes when he cut inside from the right wing and concluded a speedy burst with a powerful drive to force a good save. But Dembele also did a lot of things badly, including a clumsy early pass which allowed Levante to mount a dangerous counter-attack.

    Perhaps more importantly, his inclusion served to significantly unbalance the team shape, with his position on the right touchline not really mirrored by anyone on the left-hand side, giving Barca an asymmetrical look.

    In fact, it was difficult to see the formation they were supposed to be playing. Perhaps a 4-2-3-1, with Dembele and Andres Iniesta on the wings? Or perhaps a standard 4-4-2 without the ball, switching to a 3-5-2 in possession, with Dembele and Jordi Alba as wingbacks? And then occasionally they’d switch Dembele to the left wing in a conventional 4-3-3.

    Whatever they were trying to do, it didn’t look convincing and would surely have been punished by better teams than Levante. Dembele has potential, no doubt, but there’s still an awful lot of work to do before he becomes an effective member of this Barca team.

    Dembele

    Coutinho’s challenge…and opportunity

    With new record signing Philippe Coutinho reportedly watching from a nearby hotel ahead of his imminent unveiling, the man he is intended to eventually replace took the chance to show exactly how big a challenge the Brazilian faces.

    Andres Iniesta produced some beautiful silky touches in the first half, rolling back the years to conjure up some delightful combination play with Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba, showing Coutinho precisely what he will be expected to do with the ball but also working hard without it to maintain the team’s shape – another key requirement facing the new arrival.

    However, later on it also became apparent why Coutinho has been so badly needed. Iniesta faded from the game after the break and was then replaced by Andre Gomes, keeping up his record of failing to complete a full 90 minutes so far this season. Iniesta is still a wonderful player but he is running out of steam, and before too long Coutinho will have a chance to make that position his own.

    Philippe Coutinho 6

    Rakitic excels in the Busquets role

    One of Barca’s most important mainstays throughout the last decade has been the soothing presence of Sergio Busquets in the centre of midfield, snuffing out opposition attacks with his calm reading of the game and ticking over possession with a fabulous range of passing.

    Busquets was suspended for this game, but he wasn’t missed at all thanks to an excellent performance from Ivan Rakitic, who delivered a more than passable Busquets impression as he occupied a deeper midfield role than usual and executed his task to perfection.

    Rakitic hasn’t always looked comfortable this season, with games sometimes tending to pass him by. The former Sevilla captain often looks as though he’s having to play within himself for the good of the team’s structure, but paradoxically on this occasion dropping into a deeper position allowed him to exert a great attacking influence. And even if he eventually loses his automatic starting place in the new-look Barca, the Croat certainly remains an extremely important squad member.

    Ivan Rakitic

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