![]() Just a few weeks ago, if you mentioned the name Arturo Vidal to Barcelona fans, the reaction, at best, would have been one of disappointment. I would never in my wildest dreams have imagined Arthur Melo and Clement Lenglet to have this kind of impact in their debut seasons at 22 and 23 years of age, respectively. The 23-year-old has many great seasons ahead of him at the Camp Nou, I suspect. Over two spells Umtiti missed 16 games and Lenglet, his replacement, was excellent.Īrthur Melo arrived from Grêmio for $45M and his possession/metronome-type style fitted perfectly with the Barcelona-way. Ironically, when France World Cup-winner Samuel Umtiti injured a knee in September it was Lenglet who stepped forward. But three of the new recruits that arrived at the Camp Nou last summer have made a positive difference.įrench defender Clément Lenglet was not named to France’s 2018 World Cup but it did not stop Barcelona signing the 23-year-old center back from Sevilla for $50M. It’s no secret that just many new signings don’t work out. Messi and Suarez somehow managed to salvage a draw with goals in added time. Perhaps the greatest escape on April 2 when Villarreal led 4-2 with 90 minutes on the clock. ![]() A good part of the reason was Barcelona’s resilience when faced with adversity.īarcelona managed to “gain” 21 points from losing positions over the 35 games. Barcelona gained the top spot in round 14 and never relinquished it. Madness.īarcelona’s only two losses came in the first 12 rounds of play. He has not lost a league game to any of current top nine (Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid, Getafe, Sevilla, Valencia, Athletic Club Bilbao, Alaves, Espanyol) or Celta Vigo, Real Sociedad, Villarreal. ![]() The win on Saturday was Valverde’s 200th La Liga career win.Įrnesto Valverde has won two leagues titles from two for Barcelona. According to French publication L’Equipe, Valverde’s new deal makes him the second-highest paid manager in the game with a salary of nearly $27M a year. The 55-year-old was rewarded with a contract extension in February of this year that runs to June 2022. His approach is not dissimilar to former Real Madrid and Spain Coach Vicente Del Bosque – the players are the stars and the job of the coach is to keep things on an even keel and avoid as much of the media limelight as possible.īarcelona’s default approach is still very much possession-based but Valverde has not been afraid to introduce a more direct approach to Barcelona’s play or occasionally to sit deeper in defense and look to counter. Valverde took the shock move in stride and over the last two seasons, he has shown time and time again that he is a manager who can maintain his focus, stay calm and keep his eye on the prize. In May 2017, Ernesto Valverde signed on as Barcelona’s coach but just over two months into his time the Camp Nou was shaken by the departure of Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain. The nine-game run steadied the Barcelona ship and laid the foundation for future success. Gerard Pique was a workhorse at the heart of the Barcelona defense this season with 2,970 minutes played and he missed just two games – one through injury and the other after a yellow card accumulation.Įight of the 32 goals were conceded in two games – four against Real Betis and the same number against Villarreal.Īfter the 4-3 home loss to Real Betis in November, Barcelona allowed just 3 goals in the next 9 league games and recorded 6 clean sheets. What the stats don’t show is the number of times the German goalkeeper pulled of magnificent saves just when Barcelona needed it most.įrom all angles #UCL | /WJ1ZLf8uor Goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen has played every minute of the league season so far – 3,150 minutes – conceding 32 goals and recording 16 clean sheets. Statistically, it was not Barcelona’s best season defensively, but sometimes stats lie. Suarez La Liga minutes total 2,829 to date. Suarez missed just one league game, a knee problem, and another through suspension. ![]() So far, he has clocked 2,529 La Liga minutes this season. Lionel Messi missed two games through injury and he was rested in another. Luis Suarez has scored 21 times and he has now scored 20 or more goals in La Liga in four consecutive seasons and a total of 131 goals in 163 La Liga games.īoth Messi and Suarez missed games through injury but neither long-term. It's now 2⃣ 6⃣ #LaLiga titles for Lionel Messi has won of those Messi is now just two goals short of hitting the 600 club goals mark a milestone reached by rival Cristiano Ronaldo on the weekend while playing for Juventus. ![]()
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