Barcelona-Mallorca: Barcelona Player Ratings

A night to forget
Jasper Juinen/Getty Images

A rather uninspired showing from the Blaugrana which allowed the guests to come back after being down 1-0. While the team as a whole showed willingness and work-ethic throughout the encounter it just wasn't meant to be. Some players performer better than others while some just had an evening to forget.

This slideshow illustrates how some of the players performed to their best of abilities or lack thereof.

1. Victor Valdes

Not his best outing but definitely not his worst either
Jasper Juinen/Getty Images

Victor Valdes, the goalkeeper who finally earned some much overdue recognition certainly didn't have the best of games but definitely not the worst either.

 

Rating: 6

2. Dani Alves

Energetic as always
Manuel Queimadelos Alonso/Getty Images

The human Duracell did what was expected from him which is solid defending and an attacking outlet upfront, seems to miss his partner-in-crime on the right flank Lionel Messi.

 

Rating: 6.5

3. Gerard Pique

Solid
David Ramos/Getty Images

The young centre-back didn't reach his usually high standards which tells a lot about his quality.

 

Rating: 6

18. Gabriel Milito

Never out of sight
David Ramos/Getty Images

The former Real Zaragoza player is not the most spectacular player but he usually gets the job done and did a decent job deputizing for Carles Puyol.

 

Rating: 7

22. Eric Abidal

Back in business
David Ramos/Getty Images

It'll be a while before Eric Abidal gets another chance of opening his Barcelona account. After missing a couple of games due to personal reason the Frenchman looked solid if unspectacular in his usual position as left-back.

 

Rating: 6.5

8. Andres Iniesta

He's Andres Iniesta!
Jasper Juinen/Getty Images

Without his other half (Xavi) he looked a lot less dangerous but was still a handful for the defense of RCD Mallorca.

 

Rating: 7

14. Javier Mascherano

The boss...though the little one
Manuel Queimadelos Alonso/Getty Images

El Jefecito for once showed why FC Barcelona were so eager to sign him. Showed a lot of guile and hustle in the middle of the park.

 

Rating: 7

15. Seydou Keita

?!?
Jasper Juinen/Getty Images

He is not you typical centre-midfielder nor defensive-midfielder, he is something different. Therefore it's hard to evaluate his performance.

 

Rating. 6

9. Bojan

ABYSMAL
Jasper Juinen/Getty Images

The youngster was by far the worst player on the pitch. Too eager to score he took shots from the most outlandish angles, lucky to have played as long as he did.

 

Rating: 3

10. Lionel Messi

Not quite the performane that warrants a 10 rating
Jasper Juinen/Getty Images

Returning from a enforced 10-day break it appeared that Lionel Messi didn't miss those games at all as he continued where he left off...scoring goals.

 

Rating: 7.5

17. Pedro

And another one bites the dust
Angel Martinez/Getty Images

Pedrito is the player managers love to have in their ranks, always helping out in defense he didn't neglect his duties as an attacker either.

 

Rating: 7

27. Nolito (for Pedro)

The Future?

A lively debut by the youngster who provided some spark after his introduction.

 

Rating: 6.5

30. Thiago (for Seydou Keita)

Why doesn't Pep play him more often?
Getty Images/Getty Images

An improvement over Seydou Keita whose overall contribution to Barca's games still eludes me. Pep's decision to prefer the Malian over this exceptional La Masia youngster is still beyond comprehension.

 

Rating: 6.5

11. Jeffren (for Gabriel Milito)

He did what he could.
Denis Doyle/Getty Images

It certainly makes you wonder why Pep prefers to waste Bojan (who is a born centre-forward) on the left-wing when he has Jeffren (a natural winger) sitting on the bench. 

 

Rating: 6