Arturo Vidal, not even to go to war

Barcelona had a crucial test in La Liga against Sevilla, a final ahead of their Copa semi and another Clasico on Saturday, with the Champions League still on the horizon. It was the time to earn some air to breathe ahead of the games that are coming up.

Ernesto Valverde said in the press conference he knew the importance of the game and that there would be scraps and a war in Seville and he chose to play Arturo Vidal for that reason. But the idea did not translate from theory to practice. The game became a battle of precision and errors and the Chilean suffered a lot.

What is true is that Valverde noticed and at half-time subbed off Vidal for Ousmane Dembele, correcting his error. Let’s hope it’s a lesson learned. Later Alena came on and in 10 minutes made clear what the team needs.

Arturo can bring something to Barca but the team needs to circulate the ball better, especially with Coutinho switched off. There will be time to go to war, but sometimes, although there are scraps, Arturo’s play doesn’t help the team.