As the Catalans suffer their second defeat of the La Liga season at the hands of Real Sociedad, there were a lot of mediocre individual performances on display. Lets evaluate how each player fared in this tricky encounter.
Inaki Pena: 7.5/10
Despite being heavily at fault for conceding the goal due to his abhorrent distribution, Pena made some immense saves that prevented the hosts from deservingly doubling their lead.
Jules Kounde: 5/10
With Barca’s right flank lacking its usual offensive potency, Kounde was entrusted with a greater offensive workload. This did not fare well for the Frenchman as he was extremely mediocre and messed up possession during every instance where he found himself in the Final Third. Nor did he provide his usual defensive mastery.
Inigo Martinez: 7/10
Accurate in his distribution and solid at halting opposing threat, Inigo put forth a commendable display. Nevertheless, Oyarzabal continuously managed to find his way past the Spaniard which led to Inigo losing his discipline at times.
Pau Cubarsi: 8/10
An extremely impressive showing that highlighted all the spectacular qualities that this 17 year old possesses. Whether it was last ditch tackles, clearing aerial threat, or practically carrying Pena to distribute the ball out of the back, Cubarsi was immense in all facets of his game.
Alejandro Balde: 7/10
Solid in defense but lacked the inventiveness in attack to break down the impenetrable Sociedad defense. Despite his struggles in attack, he continued to persist in order to find some slight opening which is a trait worth highlighting.
Marc Casado: 7/10
Made some solid defensive recoveries where he slid in with full extension of his legs, a testament to the effort that he pours out on the pitch. Casado was a non factor in the first half as he barely had the ball due to playing so further away from his backline. Got on the ball much more in the second half but failed to have his usual progressive impact.
Pedri: 7.5/10
Far from his finest display, Pedri got on the ball far more frequently in the second half as he began to play deeper. Due to Barca’s struggles, he even attempted to reinforce their presence on the right flank which did not work out well. In spite of these struggles, he was the only individual that enabled the Catalans to make some entries into the final third against Sociedad’s impressive defense.
Frenkie De Jong: 5/10
An abhorrent 45 mins where he failed to provide that link between defense and midfield and in the rare instances he got onto the ball, he made sure to either slow the play by circulating the ball wide or fail to play the pass that could initiate a counter against the retreating Sociedad defense.
Fermin Lopez: 5/10
Tasked with playing on the right flank, Fermin utterly failed in this role as he was a complete non factor in the game. Struggling to get on the ball or do anything substantial when he finally managed to receive the ball, the Spaniard had a forgettable showing.
Raphinha: 7.5/10
Far from his most spectacular display, Raphinha still managed to put forth a solid effort in order to enable the Catalans to score. He tried providing his presence on all flanks and even dropped centrally to create advancing threat from deep areas on the pitch.
Robert Lewandowski: 6/10
Pounced on the only viable opportunity he got, only to be robbed off a hard earned goal by VAR of all things. From there on, the Polish International failed to receive the service to truly shine and he was extremely poor at playing the ball around.
Substitutes
Dani Olmo: 7/10
Ansu Fati: 6/10
Gavi: 6/10
Pau Victor: N/A
