Talking points as Barcelona storm past Lyon but mid-game wobble is a concern

Barca sparkle…but then suffer

For the opening half hour, Barca were irresistible. They played with great intensity and focus, pushing Lyon onto the back foot with a powerful and composed performance, maintaining a high tempo both with and without the ball and deservedly moving into a two-goal lead.

Then…they stopped. The final stages of the first half saw the home side lapse into coasting mode, lacking their previous seriousness and seeming to think they could stroll through the remainder of the game with a series of fancy flicks and tricks.

They were very wrong. Lyon took advantage of Barca’s relaxation to seize the initiative, finishing the first half strongly and starting the second in the same way. It was no surprise when they pulled back a goal through Lucas Tousart, and suddenly the tie was on a knife-edge.

In the end the hosts prevailed after Messi conjured a superb second goal to restore the two-goal cushion and then teed up Gerard Pique and Ousmane Dembele to add another couple of goals and some gloss to the scoreline, but they should not allow themselves to be deceived by the eventually comfortable winning margin. For around half an hour they were second best by a long way and they could have easily been punished. From now on, only maximum focus will do – all the time.

Coutinho flatters to deceive

Barca boss Ernesto Valverde was without one key player as Dembele was restricted to the bench with a hamstring injury, and he opted to brush aside the wishes of many fans and pundits by keeping faith with out-of-form Philippe Coutinho.

The Brazilian international has desperately struggled this season, but Valverde has been determined to stick with his costly recruit despite also having the option of turning to battle-hardened Arturo Vidal, rising star Carles Alena or hard-working winger Malcom.

Finally, though, Coutinho justified the faith of his manager by delivering a livewire first-half performance which was by far his best for a long time. He was bright from the opening whistle, playing a central role in dangerous attacks on three occasions in the opening seven minutes. And although it was a simple tap-in following fabulous work from Luis Suarez, getting his name on the scoresheet will have been a welcome boost to Coutinho’s confidence.

However, he then faded dramatically as Barca lost control of the game. Suddenly, he reverted to the hesitant and clumsy player who has prompted great frustration throughout the majority of the season, and in the end it was quite a relief when he was replaced by Dembele. So although he took a couple of big steps in the right direction, they were followed by one significant step backwards…and the doubts remain.

Sympathy for Lyon’s Lopes

Lyon’s exit drew particular sympathy for their goalkeeper Anthony Lopes, who was forced off through injury midway through the opening half after coming off worse for wear in a collision with Coutinho as he made a brave save at the Brazilian’s feet.

Lopes received lengthy treatment and it seemed inevitable that he would have to be replaced straight away, but he battled stoically back to his feet and was determined to continue, despite looking extremely groggy to say the least.

A few minutes later he was beaten by the second goal – which no keeper would have been able to prevent – and Lyon boss Bruno Genesio, probably later than he should, decided to take no further chances with his keeper’s health and introduced substitute keeper Mathieu Gorgelin. Lopes was reduced to tears as he left the field to heartfelt hugs from his team-mates and warm applause from the Barca crowd.

And the admiration he elicited was also spread more widely across his talented team-mates, many of whom showed they could have big futures ahead of them. Fast and powerful striker Moussa Dembele and classy midfielder Tanguy Ndombele look particularly bright prospects, and it would be no surprise to see them feature in big-money summer transfers.