Barcelona talking points as back three fails but Messi makes the difference

Andy West 02:30 17/12/2018
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  • Lionel Messi’s hat-trick inspired Barcelona to a 5-0 victory at Levante, burying bad memories of a humbling defeat against the same opponents last season.

    But the scoreline flattered Barca, who were only really able to take charge of the contest after a couple of moments of magic from Messi delivered a quickfire pair of goals in the second half.

    And although everything turned out well in the end for the reigning champions, it was far from easy in the opening stages as Levante took advantage of a changed Barca formation to dominate the action – and that starts our review of the action.

    Back three experiment fails to convince

    Barca headed into the game with a point to prove after suffering their only league defeat of last season with a shocking 5-4 capitulation at Levante in May, and boss Ernesto Valverde attempted to ensure a better outcome by taking the unusual step of changing his formation to a 3-5-2 which mirrored the shape of the home side.

    That might have been forced upon him by the late withdrawal of right-back Nelson Semedo with a knee problem, but whatever the reason for the switch it didn’t really work. Levante were the better team in the opening stages and had chances to take the lead, with Barca looking uncomfortable in their unaccustomed set-up.

    It was a particularly big challenge for Ousmane Dembele, who was asked to fill a wing-back role despite hardly being noted for his defending, and Levante posed plenty of problems from wide positions.

    Valverde reverted to his usual flat back four early in the second half as Ivan Rakitic filled in at right-back, and the back three is probably unlikely to be repeated too often despite the final scoreline.

    Ernesto Valverde

    Ernesto Valverde

    Messi makes the difference

    In addition to the change of formation, there was another big difference for Barca from last season’s game: the presence of Lionel Messi. The Argentine did not appear in the 5-4 loss, meaning he personally went through the entire league season without suffering defeat. And on this occasion he played the biggest role in ensuring his team enjoyed a better outcome, stepping up just when his team needed him the most.

    Towards the end of the opening period, Barca were struggling. They had failed to create anything through midfield, couldn’t sustain possession and looked vulnerable at the back, only staying on level terms thanks to Emmanuel Boateng’s fierce shot crashing against the crossbar rather than a few inches lower.

    But then Messi took over, firstly receiving possession on the edge of the area and dribbling past two defenders before rapidly swivelling to clip a perfect pass into the stride of Luis Suarez, who did the rest with a fine volleyed finish.

    A few minutes later Messi got on target himself, running onto a perfectly weighted through ball from Sergio Busquets and holding off a defender before finishing with his right foot. Then he dispelled any lingering doubt over the outcome early in the second half, rifling home an unstoppable low strike from Jordi Alba, before completing his hat-trick from close range. Game, set and Messi.

    Lionel Messi (c)

    Lionel Messi (c)

    Vidal strengthens his case

    Messi’s hat-trick goal was selflessly set up by Arturo Vidal, who ran onto a deep cross from Suarez and, rather than shooting, gave Messi a chance he was never going to miss with a low cut-back.

    It was no surprise to see Vidal in that advanced position because he was getting forward throughout the game, showing great energy and stamina to cover plenty of turf from his midfield role and strengthening the growing feeling that he is becoming a key player for Valverde.

    It certainly wasn’t always that way. The veteran Chilean struggled to get into the team at the start of the season and got himself into hot water by complaining about that state of affairs, but he has fully recovered from that slow start and started the last four league games and delivering some strong displays. At this rate, it will be hard to displace him.

    Vidal impressed as well.

    Vidal impressed as well.

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