Barcelona player ratings after 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid
Lone goalscorer Ansu Fati was Barcelona's best player, Messi went from more to less, while Sergio Busquets had one of his worst-ever games in the Blaugrana shirt.
Neto: Despite the three goals conceded, the Brazilian goalkeeper had a great game, with three impressive interventions: two from point-blank shots from Kroos and another from Sergio Ramos. He cannot be blamed at all on any of the three goals.
Dest: The American full back played in his natural right side for the first time and totally stopped Vinicius. He displayed many of his finer points, especially speed and capacity to overlap. The problem was that on many occasions his team mates did not offer support.
Piqué: Poor positioning put him at fault for Real Madrid’s first goal scored by Fede Valverde. Some poor decision making meant the deputy captain generally had a below-par performance.
Lenglet: The French defender gave away a foolish penalty for grabbing Sergio Ramos. But apart from this blunder, he had a great game.
Jordi Alba: He was determined to make it back from his injury in time for the Clásico and couldn't have started better, providing a great assist for Ansu Fati’s goal. In the first half, almost all of Barcelona’s offensive play was created on his flank. However, after the break, his physical condition began to decline to the point that he had to be replaced.
Sergio Busquets: One word – terrible. The Barca veteran had one of his worst games as a Blaugrana. He was slow and unable to get the team moving, found himself outplayed in the wide area and made several unforced errors. Koeman will have more than enough reasons to consider starting with Pjanic for the game against Juventus.
De Jong: The Dutchman lacks consistency in his game. He demonstrated his enormous talent at time, but also his tendency to disconnect.
Pedri: The responsibility of playing a Clásico seemed to weigh heavily on him. It cannot be said that he played badly, but he made little contribution to the offensive game.
Messi: The captain played too far back and posed less danger to Madrid. He had two clear chances, both of which were well stopped by Courtois. His game went from more to less as the rest of the team’s impotence seemed to infect him.
Coutinho: The Brazilian missed spectacularly when he had a great chance to score with his head, which could have changed the game. Overall, he didn't have a bad game. He was dynamic and participated in several ball recoveries, but he still lacks something to convince the doubters.
Ansu Fati: Barcelona’s best player, not only because he scored a great goal but also because of everything he contributed to the offensive game, starting as a centre forward. He also gave the assist for Coutinho’s aforementioned great chance. He has now scored eleven goals in LaLiga and has not yet turned 18. His goal was also Barcelona’s 400th goal against Real Madrid. Koeman made a mistake when replacing him in the 80th minute. After his exit from the field, Barça did not create anything.
Barcelona substitutes
Dembélé: Played on the left wing and ran like a headless chicken.
Trincao: It was not easy to go out onto the field with the scoreboard at 3-1 and try to play against a tight defence. He suffered a great deal.
Griezmann: Came on for 10 minutes and did nothing.
Braithwaite: Came on as a centre forward at the end and barely touched the ball.