Barcelona took on Leganes at Estadi Olimpic de Lluis Companys in a tricky fixture on Sunday night and were put up to a stern test by a stubborn opposition.
The visitors broke Barcelona’s defence and scored early in the night from a set-piece and were 1-0 up courtesy of a Sergio Gonzalez header in just the fourth minute.
What followed was pure Barcelona dominance in possession, the buildup and chances created but the Catalans simply had rotten luck in front of goal.
Despite creating chances to no end, Hansi Flick’s men simply struggled to beat Marko Dmitrovic even until late in the second period.
Barcelona’s disastrous finishing saw the team struggle to even equalise against Leganes’ low defensive line and ultimately drop three points once more in La Liga.
Barça Universal brings you the player ratings from Barcelona 0-1 Leganes.
Inaki Pena: 6
The keeper was relatively faultless in Leganes’ opener and was let down by his teammates’ poor marking. Did not have a whole lot more to do at Montjuic as the visitors did not threaten on goal.
Alejandro Balde: 6.5
The left-back was solid def with but not as influential in the final third as Flick would have hoped. Linked up well with Raphinha but disappointed with his crosses to the centre.
Inigo Martinez: 7
A good display from the veteran who was paired with a new partner at the back. Did not have a whole lot of defending to do and did well with his ball circulation.
Eric Garcia: 7
The surprise in the starting lineup. (Photo by Eric Alonso/Getty Images)
Stepping in as a replacement for Pau Cubarsi, the Spaniard did well in his start to hold Barcelona’s defensive line. Can be partially blamed for the opener as it was a direct error of the defence’s failure to mark Sergio Gonzalez.
Nevertheless, he was calm and composed on the ball and did not err with his passes.
Jules Kounde: 7.5
Kounde was the better of the two fullbacks by far as he churned up chances with his link-up play and crosses from the right flank. Racked up four key passes and won a stunning seven duels on the night.
Marc Casado: 7.5
The La Masia graduate was ever-present on the field, winning challenges across the park and dictating the tempo with Pedri. He was one of the primary reasons Barcelona maintained such dominance in the buildup as he seldom allowed Leganes any buildup beyond him in midfield.
Pedri: 9
The young magician was one of, if not Barcelona’s best player against Leganes as he flowed through the midfield and danced past opposition midfielders with no signs of pressure.
His distribution was as perfect as it gets and there are not many better scenes in the game than Pedri on song as he was last night.
Dani Olmo: 5
Olmo was uncharacteristically sloppy against Leganes. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
The Spanish attacking midfielder had a scandalous first-half performance where he simply looked out of sorts for reasons unknown.
Perhaps down to fatigue, Olmo struggled to keep the ball in his control and lost the ball regularly in the final third, cutting off the team’s buildup play. Lost possession 14 times in 45 minutes.
Raphinha: 9
The captain dictated the play in Barcelona’s attack and created stunning chances for his teammates with his creative vision. Recorded a staggering four key passes in the opening period and was very comfortable in the buildup, moving through the half-spaces.
Lamine Yamal: 8.5
The youngster was the epicentre of Barcelona’s attack, accelerating the buildup and regularly getting past the defender on his flank to create chances. His crosses were not as surgically measured as usual but he was unstoppable with his dribbles and combination play.
Struggled for a while after receiving a blow to his ankle but did not allow the setback to slow him down in any measure.
Robert Lewandowski: 3
The striker was uncharacteristically poor in the opening period and created nothing of the several chances Barcelona churned up in the Leganes half. Scored nothing from an xG of 1.56 in 45 minutes and added absolutely nothing to the buildup.
Did not improve much after the break either as he simply struggled to test the goalkeeper despite having chances fall kindly time and time again.