Barcelona 5-0 Celta Vigo (6-1 Aggregate): Player Ratings
FC Barcelona hosted Celta Vigo for the second leg of the Copa del Rey round of 16 tie. The first leg was an evenly contested match, but the same cannot be said about this match. FC Barcelona came out with all guns blazing as they rushed to a 4-0 lead by the half-hour mark of the match.
A brace by Lionel Messi(both assisted by Jordi Alba) and a goal apiece by Alba and Luis Suarez saw Barcelona complete the first half rout with a 4-0 scoreline.
However, in the second half, they did take the foot off the gas but never really allowed Celta to have any joy. Rakitic, then went on to score with a fine header in the dying minutes of the match to seal the game with a 5-0 scoreline.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at how the players fared for both the teams:
Celta Vigo
Sergio Alvarez: 8/10
While Alvarez did make a few great saves and blocks throughout the match, this was definitely not his best performance. He should have probably saved the first Messi goal.
Daniel Wass: 5.5/10
He was the best Celta attacker on the night. However, with Aspas and Sisto both off-colour, he alone could not muster much but he did beat his man a few times and was looking dangerous in patches on Celta’s right.
Sergi Gomez: 4/10
Sergi Gomez had a shocker of the game. Though many might argue that he was not provided adequate cover by his midfield, Gomez could still have done a better job at keeping Barcelona away.
Andreu Fontas: 4.5/10
Like his centre-back partner, the 28-year old had a miserable performance at the heart of La Real’s defence. He was left for dead by Suarez throughout the match and never really could mark him. He did make a few important interceptions and tackles though.
Jonathan Castro: 5.5/10
Defending the left flank for Celta, Jonny put in a fairly decent performance. He was troubled a bit whenever Semedo overlapped and in general got the better of him. Attacking, he was left a bit handicapped as Sisto was completely out of sorts..
Hugo Mallo: 3.5/10
Hugo Mallo was quite overwhelmed by the forays coming down his side with both Jordi Alba and Andres Iniesta having a field day on that side of the pitch. Attacking wise, he was not quite up there alongside his usual standards.
Stanislav Lobotka: 5/10
The central defensive midfielder was fairly anonymous and was effectively marked out of the game by Barcelona's midfielders. He will look forward to improving his performance after a tough outing.
Jozabed Sanchez: 5.5/10
Sanchez put in a decent display in the midfield as he screened his defence to some extent and also distributed the ball intelligently. However, he struggled against Messi and lost him several times.
Pione Sisto: 3/10
Pione Sisto simply put, was poor on the night. He lost possession frequently and was at fault for Barcelona’s second goal, when he lost the ball in his own penalty area. He was rightfully taken off at halftime.
Iago Aspas: 4/10
Aspas worked hard tirelessly but could not get better of Mascherano or Pique. His decision making was quite erratic and he never could get in any decent attacking positions.
Emre Mor: 5.5/10
The forward made one or two excellent runs across the box but without any end product. He certainly was one of the better attackers for Celta and certainly could have used some help from his teammates..
Substitutes:
Brais Mendez: 6/10
Was brought on for Pione Sisto in the second half, but his performance was decent. A lot of his time was spent inside his own half trying to check Jordi Alba's runs and thus could never really get forward with intent.
Maxi Gomez: 5/10
He was brought on in the second half to play as a striker. He was not up to the pace of the game and was all over the place while taking on players. He had a great one on one chance late in the game which was snuffed out by Vermaelen and Semedo.
Nemanja Radoja: N/A
Came on for Daniel Wass, but he did not quite prove to be an upgrade over him. However, he was disciplined and did help out defensively to keep the score in check.