No rest for Lionel Messi and other takeaways as Barcelona set record in Valencia win

In the wake of Barca’s shock loss in Rome, manager Ernesto Valverde received heavy criticism for failing to regularly rotate his squad and therefore leaving key players tired in the decisive phase of the season.

But if Valverde heard that criticism he didn’t act upon it. He made just two changes from the starting line-up in Rome: one of those was enforced as Paulinho replaced the injured Ivan Rakitic, and the other was tactical as Nelson Semedo – probably the physically freshest member of the squad – dropped to the bench with Philippe Coutinho coming into midfield and Sergi Roberto moving into defence. And he again declined the opportunity to use his bench, only making his first substitution after 78 minutes.

Valverde now has to decide how many of his first-choice stars he will rest – if any – for the midweek game at Celta Vigo, which precedes the team’s first chance to secure silverware with next weekend’s Copa del Rey Final against Sevilla. Perhaps Tuesday’s trip will finally be the time when Valverde decides to give players like Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi a break.

A win…but questions remain

Barcelona will be greatly relieved to get back into winning ways and dispel the negative headlines that followed their European exit, but this was by no means a perfect performance as Valencia created enough chances to take at least a point.

Visiting boss Marcelino ruefully noted that Barca goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen had been the home team’s best player, and Valencia striker Rodrigo will be particularly frustrated not to have scored after firing several efforts goalwards.

Barca were certainly much better going forward than they had been in midweek, with Messi and Iniesta in particular producing some excellent creative play, but Valencia were often able to overrun the midfield with Sergio Busquets regularly left outnumbered. So although it was a very good result for Barca, question marks remain.

Coutinho adds attacking intent

One option denied to Valverde in midweek was cup-tied Coutinho, who showed that he can add plenty to Barca’s Champions League challenge next season with a bright display.

The former Liverpool man produced a perfectly weighted pass to Luis Suarez for the opening goal and later delivered a pinpoint corner to the near post for Samuel Umtiti to head home the second.

He was also heavily involved in his team’s approach play, linking well with Messi and Iniesta, and fired one long-range shot narrowly wide. And although it’s still unclear exactly what his long-term role in the team will be, he has the potential to become a major asset.