Aug 18, 2016 @SoccerSXN Coming off the 2015/2016 season, FC Barcelona has been criticized for lacking true squad depth, which might have been the reason for their disastrous 5 game losing streak (after a 6 month unbeaten streak) dropping them out of the champions league as the players were fatigued coming from international duty and lost confidence following their 2-1 defeat at home to Real Madrid. The same Starting XI was used repeatedly with very little rotation. This constrained the bench players reducing the quality of their performances when called up and this inflexibility made the team predictable. And this alongside their risky style of play and shaky defense allowed even the weakest of teams to snatch points away. That said, Barcelona still managed to win the league by a single point (due to comebacks by Messi and Suarez), and after a high intensity Copa del Rey final , they defeated the Europa league winners sevilla 2-0 (stunning performances from pique , iniesta and messi). The team had went back to winning ways and world beating form, but this was hardly recognized as their two rivals played each other in the European final with the main rivals Real Madrid and Christiano Ronaldo defeating Antoine Griezman's Athletico Madrid in penalties. A successful summer for Ronaldo and a silver medal summer for Messi meant that Real Madrid were entering the new season with more hype despite Barcelona still being the favorites to win. The transfer window saw both clubs making new signings in preparation of the the new season, and apart from the insanely stupid decision to sell Marc Bartra (after renewing Mascherano and the s-----y Matthieu ) , Barcelona have taken full use of the transfer window and bought promising attacking midfield prospects Andre Gomes and and Denis Suarez as well as the solid young french defenders Lucas Digne and Samuel Umtiti (the best signing). The preseason has been shaky and many a skeptic have declared the end to Barcelona's reign, but the season has started and Barcelona's first match-up was against the European Giants Sevilla who despite losing very (VERY) important players, still signed another world class coach and new young talents. Neymar was away at the olympics, so Arda Turan was played at the right wing . The first leg saw Andres Iniesta, Mascherano, Suarez and Matthieu getting injured, and with jordi alba having match fitness issues, barcelona were forced to start the next match with 3 out of the 4 new young signings and the underdeveloped munir. The first match ended 2-0 after goals from Suarez (Asst.Turan) and the 20 year old Munir (Asst.Messi) . and Barca went into the second leg with lowered yet still high expectations. The second match started slowly with sampaoli's team getting a high paced start with multiple chances at goal and sustained pressure despite an early goal from a Barcelona (turan). The bench-warmer and new signing team looked ok at best and although the trophy was still effectively sealed, the teamed looked 'ok' . Enter the second half and holy s---! Lets start with Arda Turan This guy is undisputed turkey's best player, yet ever since joining from athletico madrid was (rightfully) consistently benched in favor of Iniesta and Rakitic. With Neymar missing he was placed in the RW position. During the first leg he had a fantastic work rate and a beautiful assist. In the second leg he opened the scoring, and after a defensive error scored a drop dead beautiful first touch chipped goal from distance. He was generally fantastic during the game and is easily barca's best player over both legs . He was the best treated bench-warmer last season and might see an increase in run outs, maybe as backup for Neymar. Munir el Hadadi I had really low expectations for Munir going in as a substitute in the first match (which is expected, he's just 20). Those expectations were ever so slightly raised when he scored a class goal in the first leg. After what i've seen in the second leg, this guy could very well be the next Messi. After the first leg i was surprised in how confident he had gotten as a striker, this confidence however goes much further as in this match while he provided no direct assists or goals, Munir's performance was technically flawless. At one point I mistook him for neymar when he skillfully danced away from a defender and after a moment of unsure hesitation, held his head up and delivered a beautiful chipped pass to Turan, and this all took place just outside the six yard, surrounded by defenders. His passing has been on point and his dribbling has been solid. I might be slightly exaggerating in how i sound, but munir is well above expectation, and has frightening potential. Samuel Umtiti Turan was the best player over both legs collectively, but Umtiti might just be the best individual player in the second leg (if not messi). His defending has been world class. This isn't a player who just has world class potential, Samuel Umtiti IS world class and could very well be one of the best defenders in the league if given enough game time (Note that this is the league with Ramos , Pepe and Godin). His interceptions both on ground and in the air have been extraordinary and had he not been on the field, then sevilla might have scored a few goals. Putting aside the defensive masterclass, Umtiti is a very good technical player and fits in to the system perfectly. He composure under immense pressure was at times audacious and he never held back at opportunities to grab space by dribbling which at one point created a dangerous attack as he dribbled the length of the pitch, of course he didn't particularly beat anyone 1v1, but he, did well to utilize the space that was given to him and shows good judgement. Had Barcelona's management not been complete f---ing idiots and keep Bartra instead of selling him, our defense would be quite literally perfect, but he will serve as a great backup if not outright (which he will be while mascherano is injured) starter. Lucas Digne was also solid in Alba's LB position and Denis was as good for Barcelona as he was for Villareal creating good attacking chances, while Gomes played well in the more central position. The only possible weakness in Barcelona's Squad is that Roberto is still inexperienced in the RB position (although still solid in defense and quite gifted in attack), and Vidal is less tenchinally brilliant than roberto, but has the pace needed for the position,but with Gomes also playing on that side, it's pretty solid regardless. Barcelona have made themselves into a more flexible team being able to play both tiki taka or to rely more on long passes and can do both (through lionel messi) at a high level. Lucho has declared this team to be the best he's ever had, and Barcelona fans have never been less worried about Iniesta's eventual drop in form. The future looks bright.
