Barcelona player ratings as Umtiti, Messi & Suarez impress at Espanyol

Barcelona player ratings as Umtiti, Messi & Suarez impress at Espanyol

Partido muy sufrido del Barcelona ante el Espanyol
Partido muy sufrido del Barcelona ante el Espanyol | sport

Suarez scored twice and Rakitic got the other in a 3-0 win

Even though he did not score, Messi was once again impressive

It wasn't as easy as the 3-0 scoreline suggests, but Barcelona kept their title hopes alive with a derby win over Espanyol on Saturday. Here are the player ratings: 

Marc-Andre ter Stegen (6) Wasn’t made to work as hard as Espanyol would have liked, with the home side failing to take advantage of their best chances and failing to really test him. OK with his feet but made one mistake. 

Sergi Roberto (7) Provided a scare early on when it looked like he had injured his knee. Played on produced a tireless performance, getting up and down the right flank. Ended the game in midfield. 

Gerard Pique (7) Had to be aware of Felipe Caicedo, who gave him a lot of problems. Was then able to deal more convincingly with Leo Baptistao. 

Samuel Umtiti (8) A brilliant display, both when bringing the ball out from the back and dominating in the air. It’s clear now he was the major success of last summer’s transfer market. 

Jordi Alba (7) The big benefactor of Barca moving back to a back four, regaining his place in the side at left-back. Has been at a good level since coming back on a regular basis, too. 

Sergio Busquets (6) Had problems when it came to ball circulation and sometimes seemed desperate to make overplay things. 

Ivan Rakitic (7) For the second time in a week, the Croatian was on the score sheet. Put Barça ahead in the Clasico and scored the game-killing second here. 

Andre Gomes (7) Chosen as the player to replace the injured Andres Iniesta after his midweek brace against Osasuna. Played well, looking more confident after those goals. 

Lionel Messi (8) A low-key performance in comparison with recent weeks, but still Barça’s best player. Set up Rakitic’s goal with a driving run forward and played the pass which led so Suarez’s second. Reads and runs the ply so well.  

Luis Suarez (8) Opened the scoring, taking advantage of Jurado’s stray pass to beat Diego Lopez and ending a run of five games without a goal. Added his second (and 26th in La Liga this season) in the late stages after another Espanyol mistake, this time from young full-back Aaron. 

Neymar (7) Back in the side after serving a three-game ban, his pace was a constant threat on the left. Drew one great save from Lopez, but will be disappointed with his decision making when in good areas overall. 

Substitutes 

Javier Mascherano (6) Fresh from his goalscoring heroics against Osasuna, was introduce for Gomes in the second half. Filled in at right-back and had little to do. 

Topics with the letter