Copa Del Rey 2017/18: Real Murcia 0-3 Barcelona - Player Ratings
FC Barcelona travelled to Murcia to take on Real Murcia in the first leg of their round-of-32 draw in the Copa Del Rey. La Liga table-toppers taking on a Segunda division team was always going to be a one-sided affair. However, to their credit, Murcia did defend resolutely and managed to keep the scoreline a respectable 1-0 at the end of first half.
In the second half, Barcelona went on to score two quick goals via individual efforts of Deulofeu and the debutant Jose Arnaiz. Thus, Barcelona managed to come back from the away leg with a three-goal advantage despite fielding a second string side. The second leg will be played at Camp Nou at the end of November.
Here, let’s take a look at how the players fared for both the teams:
Real Murcia
Alejandro Santome - 5/10
While Santome did make a few great saves and blocks throughout the match, this was definitely not his best performance. He should have probably saved the goals he conceded against Deulofeu and Arnaiz.
Antonio Escribano - 4.5/10
Though he started well, he faded as the match wore on. He did not trouble Digne much and did not quite track the runs of Digne, who looked dangerous. He should be disappointed as to how things turned out.
Juanra - 4/10
He struggled in defence as Barca looked quite threatening on his side of the pitch. Deulofeu constantly ran at him with pace as he was more likely to lose the duel.
Pedro Orfila - 4.5/10
Unlike his centre-back partner, Orfila had a miserable performance at the heart of La Real’s defence. He was left for dead by Alcacer throughout the match and never really could mark him. He did make a few important interceptions and tackles
Alex Oritz - 5/10
He was probably better of the two fullbacks for Real Murcia. He defended reasonably well against Arnaiz but was never convincing. Attacking, his contribution was minimal, almost negligible.
David Mateos - 6.5/10
Mateos put in a good performance as he was constantly in the way of Messi and company, keeping them at bay for the majority of the game. He made a string of important interceptions and tackles to keep Murcia in the game.
Nadjib - 4.5/10
Nadjib worked hard tirelessly but could not get better of Mascherano or Vermaelen. His decision making was quite erratic and he never could get in any decent attacking positions.
Jordan Dominguez - 6/10
Dominguez 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 Suarez and lost him several times.
Fernando Llorente - 5.5/10
The central attacking 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.
Abel Molinero - 6/10
He was the liveliest of Real Murcia's attackers and used his pace well to trouble Barcelona defenders on the odd counter attacks. However, for all his pace, the lack in quality was quite apparent.
Elady - 4/10
This was again a game to forget for Eladio, who has been one of Murcia's better player this season, barring this fixture. He struggled to cause too many problems and his final passes were poor. He failed to provide any end product as Murcia struggled to score.
Substitutes:
David Sanchez - 5/10
Came on for Llorente, but he did not fare much better. He too sat back like his predecessor and tried to the best of his abilities to stop the constant wave after wave of Barcelona attacks.
Chamorro - 6/10
Brought on for Molinero, he was a real nuisance but was not able to bag a goal. A good performance which gave Murcia some hope.
Armando - N/A
Late substitution. Did not have time to affect the game.