Athletic Bilbao vs. Barcelona: Winners and Losers from Copa Del Rey
Barcelona put themselves in the driving seat for a Copa del Rey semi-final spot with a 2-1 first-leg win over Athletic Club on Wednesday night.
After the home team had been the better side in the opening stages, Munir scored with almost Barcelona's first chance on goal, finishing a fine move down the right. Neymar then doubled the lead soon after, as he cut in to take advantage of a defensive mix-up, leaving Barcelona in control at the break.
The game became a little scrappy and extremely aggressive thereafter, and Athletic barely deserved their lifeline goal, a strike from Aritz Aduriz that leaves the tie finely poised ahead of the second leg at the Camp Nou.
Here are all our winners and losers from the match at San Mames.
Winner: Arda Turan
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Arda Turan got the nod to fill the Leo Messi-shaped void on the right of the Barcelona attack, playing further upfield than he has done recently and looking like a creative menace whenever he was in possession.
His quick thinking and vision essentially created the opening goal, as he drew defenders toward him and then freed Ivan Rakitic down the right flank—though the team still needed a superb ball across from the Croatian for Munir to score.
Turan was subbed in the second half for Aleix Vidal after another good all-round performance.
Loser: Javi Eraso
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One of the poorest players on the pitch in the weekend fixture between the two sides, Javi Eraso repeated the trick admirably in the cup encounter.
Playing as the main support for striker Aduriz, Eraso wasted three good chances through his poor control, lack of vision and speed in possession, and general lack of ability. The difference between him and Iker Muniain or Raul Garcia is enormous, and it highlights the lack of depth for Athletic outside the first 12 or 13 outfield players.
Eraso was subbed for Sabin Merino, who was equally lacking in impact.
Winner: Munir
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Munir started at centre-forward, and he again showed that this is his real role, rather than a supporting player out wide.
He had few opportunities to find the back of the net but took the first one brilliantly with a first-time and composed finish on the stretch. His work rate and one-touch play were impressive for the first hour or so, including standing up to the increasing physical threat of the Athletic defence.
The one big problem for Munir is, of course, that a front-three player for Barcelona needs to put in this type of performance, regardless of being in the centre or on the flank, almost every time he takes the field. This was another positive step, but he has a long way to go before he can be on the right level to play regularly or stake a claim to be a genuine backup striker for Luis Suarez.
Losers: Athletic's Absurdly Aggressive Fall-Back Position
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Athletic Club received six yellow cards in the second half, and only the referee knows how they didn't get shown a red.
Mikel San Jose grabbed Munir around the throat, there was a claim that Aduriz stood deliberately on Neymar's head or chest, and Oscar de Marcos must have made four fouls, at least a couple of them cynical and deliberate, after he was booked.
Athletic started the game on the front foot and were playing well. Although it must have been frustrating to fall away in the way they did, they have to find a route to combating opposition that does not merely involve hacking it to pieces at every opportunity.
Winner: Sergi Roberto
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Sergi Roberto is the Barcelona Swiss army knife—perfectly adaptable to any situation and apparently happy to fill any void in the team whatsoever.
On Wednesday, it happened to be left-back. Jordi Alba was out injured, Adriano was left on the bench, and Jeremy Mathieu wasn't selected either, so the central midfielder (well, usually) started in the position he ended the weekend game in.
Once again, Roberto didn't put a foot wrong, playing most of the match before being subbed for Adriano after a performance showing tenacious defensive work, good composure on the ball and the ability to get into the attacking half of the pitch when needed. He'll have a battle for midfield places now for sure but should still see a lot of game time for Barcelona thanks to his ability to play just about anywhere.
