FC Barcelona
Marc Andre ter Stegen – 4: Yet again, not a good evening for the young German – beaten for a second time this season from long range. He could not have expected Florenzi to shoot, but it does not look good on him.
Sergi Roberto – 7: Another good defensive performance from the Spaniard, who is looking increasingly at home in the unfamiliar right-back berth.
Gerard Pique – 6: The big Spaniard has nott played for a few weeks thanks to his domestic ban, but had a decent game up against the big man Dzeko.
Jeremy Mathieu – 6: Solid positionally, and rarely tested by a disappoining Roma attack. Occasionally tested by Salah’s pace, but the Egyptian’s lack of last ball meant it went punished.
Jordi Alba – 5: Missing in action, last seen in Florenzi’s back pocket. Alba did not have the best of games, and was well marshalled by the combination of Florenzi and Nainggolan.
Andres Iniesta – 6: The World Cup winner was unusually quiet in the Barcelona midfield, and was well nullified by Nainggolan and the excellent De Rossi.
Ivan Rakitic – 4: Did very little apart from setting up the Suarez goal, having been given acres of space thanks to silly defending by Digne. Rakitic was largely ineffective and was replaced after an hour.
Lionel Messi – 7: Messi does not really do bad games, but for him he was a little quiet as he was deployed in more of a playmaker role than we are used to seeing him in. The little Argentinian showed moments of brilliance in the second half, but struggled to impose himself on the game.
Neymar – 5: Struggled to get into the game and was surprisingly well looked after by Florenzi – who the Brazilian must have anticipated he would have a field day against. Neymar was starved of possession and wasteful when he did manage to get on the ball.
Luis Suarez – 5: Got his goal, which he could not really miss after being unmarked in the middle of the goal. Other than that the Roma defence kept him quiet and the Uruguayan was lucky not to have been sent off for a blatant kick on Szczesny.
Substitutes:
Rafinha – N/A: Came on for the disappointing Rakitic, only to be injured when he was scythed down from behind by Nainggolan two minutes later.
Javier Mascherano – 6: Looked comfortable in his more natural midfield position, looked good on the ball despite not doing a great deal.
What are your thoughts? Let us know by dropping a comment below via our Facebook comment box. Make sure you follow us on Twitter @Outside90 and like us on Facebook.
