Munir El Haddadi States His Case as Barcelona Blow Away Leicester City

Barcelona's second pre-season friendly followed a similar line to their first, with the team generally playing at a high level for this time of year.

After the 3-1 win over Celtic, Barcelona took only positive sensations forward, and that will mostly be the case after this 4-2 win over Premier League champions Leicester City in Stockholm, Sweden.

The swashbuckle of the Blaugrana attack was too brutal for Claudio Ranieri's team to handle, and this time it was the MSM instead of the MSN that shone.

Munir El Haddadi stated his case to Luis Enrique to be the Blaugrana's fourth forward again this season, behind Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and the absent Neymar.

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Munir El #Haddadi mencetak 2 gol, Luis #Suarez 1 gol + 1 assists, Lionel #Messi 2 assists pic.twitter.com/FrleCnN65w

— The Footballicious © (@footballicious) August 4, 2016"

The young Spain striker notched twice, with Suarez and youngster Rafa Mujica grabbing the other goals.

The first Munir goal came in the 26th minute. Lionel Messi, who had been mocked by Leicester supporters for slipping seconds earlier ("She fell over!" they chanted), played an inch-perfect ball behind Danny Simpson.

Making a cutting run behind the right-back was Munir. It was a daring run, a brave one—while other players would have taken a wider loop, Munir took a path close to the defender, confident he could make his way past and reach the ball.

When he did, he took one touch to control it on his right foot and then dispatched the ball with his left—a fine finish.

Nils Petter Nilsson/Ombrello/Getty Images

His second of the game came after Suarez had doubled the score with a solo effort, this time benefiting from another fine pass, this time from the Uruguayan.

The striker arched a ball into the middle, and Munir switched feet, using his left to control it and then the right to slot it home.

It was a fine exhibition of both technique and finishing prowess before an admiring Luis Enrique.

"I have a lot of confidence in Munir and he also scored goals last season," explained the coach, per Sport. "He is a young footballer, he has a long path in front of him yet, but he also has a willingness to work, and he always adds something."

However, the coach has wanted to bring in a new forward for some time, and when asked about a possible signing in that position before the end of the transfer window, the Asturian added: "We are always open to the market and to strengthening the team."

After so many weeks of struggles in the transfer market, some wonder why Barcelona don’t just give in and use Munir as their fourth option. It didn’t work too badly last year, when he stepped in on various occasions, mainly for Neymar.

Munir struggled at the start of the season but eventually established his dominance over Sandro Ramirez, another youngster and a rival for the position. It led to Sandro leaving for Malaga this summer.

In January he enjoyed a purple patch, scoring four goals in three games. Two came against Espanyol in the last 16 of the Copa del Rey, the next against Athletic Bilbao in the quarter-final. The fourth arrived against Malaga in La Liga, scoring early on to set Barcelona on their way in a tricky encounter.

Although physically he can’t offer the hurly burly, hustle and bustle that Suarez manages, Munir does have some subtlety in the box. He can dart in among and around defenders, tying them in knots, and his versatility means he can be used across the front line.

If Barcelona can sign the right player at the right price, they should still do so, but Munir set out against Leicester to prove that they do not need to, and he did a good job.

Sport's Julio Smith gave him an eight out of 10 rating and wrote:

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Often criticised, and understandably so at times, but Munir showed he has a place in this squad. He made smart runs in behind the Leicester defence and his solid first touches, followed by two confident finishes, were a very nice sight for Barca fans. Unfortunately, his poor decision-making robbed him of the chance of a third when clean through on goal.

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On that third occasion, he looked to slide in Messi instead of shooting himself. While it was the wrong idea in this instance, generally it’s not a bad tactic to follow.

Luis Enrique will also be pleased with the way he and the other forwards and midfielders collaborated, especially in the first half.

The interplay between them was spectacular at times and left Leicester looking lost at this level, although the Foxes struck back in the second half, showing the spirit that drove them to an unlikely title last season.

Ahmed Musa scored a brilliant brace, although by that point centre-back Marlon had gone off. The Brazilian had been a good partner to Jeremy Mathieu, building on a decent showing in the second half against Celtic.

On loan from Fluminense, he has been another bright spot during pre-season, and it would be no surprise to see him called upon in Copa del Rey games this season, or even in La Liga if there is a spate of injuries or absences.

He went off for Javier Mascherano at half-time, and the Argentinian, who's still a little off the pace after only returning to training a few days earlier, was caught out by the speed of Musa.

JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/Getty Images

Leicester’s new signing zipped past him for the first goal before getting a shot away that Mascherano couldn’t block as he pulled it back to 3-2.

Although the Argentinian can be excused because he is only just getting back in the groove following his summer break, it has been shown before that pace is a weakness for him—he fouled Kevin Gameiro in the Copa del Rey final when flying towards goal and was justly dismissed.

To be fair to Mascherano, Mathieu and Sergi Roberto also floundered when faced by Musa’s speed.

There were mistakes for the second goal, too, which was reminiscent of the one Celtic's Leigh Griffiths scored against them on Saturday.

Jordi Masip passed it short to a defender under pressure, who gave it away. It was Juan Camara this time, receiving the ball on the left then going down under little pressure, resulting in a cross for Musa being slammed home after he reacted quicker than the centre-backs to the situation.

Defensive reaction speeds are something for Luis Enrique to work on, although the truth is the team will start getting this right simply by playing more games.

JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/Getty Images

Barcelona’s next game is against Liverpool at Wembley on Saturday, and they will be looking to build on the fine start they have made to preseason.

That goes for players like Marlon, who wants a place in the first-team squad, and Munir, who will see these International Champions Cup matches as a place to prove points to the coach.

If Barcelona don’t end up signing a new forward, then Munir will consider himself to have played a role in that decision.