Villanovense 0-0 FC Barcelona: 5 talking points
With a different-looking Barcelona side travelling to CF Villanovense for their Copa del Rey fixture, it provided the perfect opportunity for manager Luis Enrique to test the depth of his squad with numerous important games ahead. Each youngster gave a different takeaway for the manager and the fans, and it will be interesting to see how this affects competition in the squad in the coming few fixtures.With the likes of Sergi Samper, Gerard Gumbau, Sandro, Douglas and Munir El Haddadi under the scanner as possible competitors to various open spots in the Barcelona team owing to injuries and the transfer embargo, this game was closely followed by the Barcelona faithful.Here are the five talking points from this unassuming, yet interesting fixture.
#1 Jordi Masip impresses
The first surprise for the Barcelona faithful was the presence of a seemingly new name between the sticks. Young goalkeeper Jordi Masip has long been a mainstay for the Barcelona B side, and must have been awaiting his chance to step up with Marc-Andre ter Stegen when Victor Valdes vacated the number one jersey two years ago. However, the signing of Claudio Bravo meant that the Spaniard would have to continue waiting.
Handed a rare start for the club against Villanovense, Masip immediately caught the eye with his calm demeanour and excellent control of his defensive area. Despite not being forced into a number of saves since Barcelona monopolised possession, Masip’s positioning was impressive and he wasn’t afraid to venture out of the box to deal with back passes on occasion.
His communication with the likes of Jeremy Mathieu and Thomas Vermaelen betrayed a player with an impressive amount of self-confidence and an ability to take quick decisions in tandem with some of the most experienced defenders of his era.
Considering Ter Stegen’s shaky form of late and the fact that Enrique played a largely experienced defence to complement Masip, one wonders if the youngster will finally get the belated promotion he deserves to fight for the number one jersey at the Catalan club.