Barcelona vs. Ajax: Lessons Learned from Champions League Game
Barcelona warmed up for Saturday's clash at Real Madrid in perfect style with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Ajax to make it two wins from three in this season's Champions League campaign.
First-half goals from Neymar and Lionel Messi put the hosts in complete control, and although they should have managed a few more scores, they then found their lead cut when Ajax substitute Anwar El Ghazi pulled one back late on.
Sandro Ramirez, one of the players who came on in the second half as Luis Enrique rested Neymar, Messi and Andres Iniesta, soon wrapped up the win, though.
Here are some lessons we learned.
Andres Iniesta Has Still Got It
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With Xavi now uncertain of his place in the side, Iniesta has taken over his role as the grand old man of the Barcelona team with relish.
He was absolutely superb in the first half here, with his pass for Messi’s goal a thing of beauty. He then had a glorious run which saw him burst through several challenges deserving of a tough stop from Jasper Cillessen.
With such a titanic game to come at the weekend, any talk that the World Cup winner can’t influence matches any more should be given a deaf ear. He might not be able to go for 90 minutes at full throttle, but he can still impress.
Lionel Messi Doesn't Make the Rules
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There has been plenty of talk in Barcelona and beyond about how Messi told Enrique not to take him off in a recent La Liga game, but the Barca boss showed his star man who was really in charge when he replaced him with Munir El Haddadi midway through the second half.
Of course, the looming test at the Bernabeu was the perfect excuse for Enrique to make the decision, but with it came a sort of strange murmur around the Nou Camp.
This sort of thing simply doesn’t happen to Messi, but the chants of Enrique’s name that soon followed the move showed that the fans knew it was for the greater good.
Ajax Are Nowhere Near Barca These Days
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In years gone by, when the elite players used to swap between these two clubs, this would have been seen as a potential final, but that’s nowhere near the case now.
From the first whistle, this young Ajax side simply knew their place. They were here to try to get close to Barca, but they were never going to beat them.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen remains the somewhat controversial pick for Enrique in Champions League matches, but he was pretty much a spectator here, especially in the first half, and although the goalkeeper conceded one late on, he won’t have many evenings that are more comfortable.
Barcelona Will Enter El Clasico as the Fresher Team
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Of course, we knew this already simply because they are playing 24 hours before Real Madrid and at home, but Barca will enter the titanic tussle at the weekend as the much fresher side because they were barely tested by their young opponents here.
Real may very well win at Liverpool on Wednesday, too, but you can be sure that they’ll have to expend a lot more energy and emotion in what is likely to be a raucous Anfield atmosphere.
This was simply a walk in the park for Barcelona, who were able to withdraw Neymar and Iniesta before the end of the game, as well as Messi.
"We had planned to make those changes as long as the result was going the way we had hoped it would," Enrique told FCBarcelona.com.
Enrique added: "Like any coach I am trying to keep all of my players happy. Any of these players could start at the Bernabeu and could perform well."
Things may have got a little worrying for a few minutes after El Ghazi pulled a goal back out of nothing, but in reality Ajax were nowhere near them, with the margin of victory given a more deserving look by Sandro late on.
Real Will Look to Exploit Gerard Pique
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Perhaps the one black mark on Barca’s night was Gerard Pique's performance. He was fortunate to get away with slack defending in the first half and then almost scored a comical own goal in the second.
With Javier Mascherano now seemingly utilised in central midfield more often than not by Enrique, Pique's performances will be viewed with great interest by many, and he could be the player targeted by Cristiano Ronaldo at the weekend.
Super Sub Sandro Makes Another Point to Suarez
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With Luis Suarez sat up in the stands and ready to return at the weekend, substitute Sandro’s sense of timing was pretty good when he fired home Barca’s third goal late on.
It was a strike that finally secured the three points for the home side, but it also served as a reminder that there’s plenty of quality in reserve for Barca, for whom nine of the 14 who played Tuesday came through the academy.
