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I'm afraid to think how Lucho would have played our original starters if he hadn't inherited a worn-in system. Because when it comes to playing guys outside their actual positions, Lucho is master. And not out of necessity, either, but out of who-knows-what...

Alba was also quick to adapt. Very pleased with Digne so far. It's a great feeling to know that we've got a solid LB backup when Alba is not around.

Lucho put Gomes and Denis the wrong way around. And knowing how stubborn he is, I'm afraid we'll see more of that.

Great game from Messi. Looks hungry af.

That feeling when you see Mascherano walk off the field injured, but you're calm because you know you have Umtiti to pair with Pique. :wub:

:lol: :lol: Joking aside, Arda made me forget we were missing a starter on the left tonight. That's a good sign.

Great pre-assist to Messi, opened up the game. But other than that, fairly quiet. Also, I fear that Lucho might be using him/Rakitić and Denis the wrong way around, like Kovač did with Modrić and Rakitić.

Vidal is very, very average. Barca B level. Had decent moments going forward, but other than that, he makes me squirm in my chair.

He was much less involved after his second goal, probably due to fatigue, and that's a legitimate problem, but other than that, he's been very good. The first 50-ish minutes were outstanding, and he reappeared near the end of the game. His positioning and movement was great, and his passing...

Can't even score a hat trick. Sell.

What an idiot. He should have passed.

I hope the yellow and the penalty don't damage his confidence. It wasn't his fault. Also, lovely attitude after the ref called it, finally a reasonable guy on the pitch.

Even ignoring the goal, he's been fantastic so far. On and off the ball.

And as I said, he gets flack for doing that exact thing, regardless of the rest of the game. I'm OK with him being criticized for underperforming during the rest of the game, that's legit. But criticizing him even for what he does well just shows that people are looking for reasons to take a big...

The dude does everything supporters want him to in one play, and he still gets flack for doing so instead of trying to score. :lol: Amazing.

Exactly. He doesn't have the speed of thought and smoothness of Xavi, but more importantly, he doesn't have the freedom that Xavi, Iniesta & co. had/have to excel at certain tasks. We're using Rakitić in a way that severely limits most of his strong points and gives him no room to shine, yet he...

Also, you can't take statements out of their context. For a while there, Tello was indeed better than Alexis, because Tello was scoring well, and Alexis was going through the worst few months of his career. He was downright embarrassing. But you can't apply those statements to entire careers.

I swear Alba must be the most underrated player among supporters.

Hot damn. :wub:

It does seem that way, but you may be underestimating Rakitić. The role he's been playing here is difficult, and part of that role is that if you're doing your job right, you don't draw attention and you don't get the praise. But to put it differently, I agree that Rakitić is the first from our...