Super Cup Clash Shows Barcelona's New Signings Will Have to Earn Their Places
There was bad news and good news for Barcelona’s new signings during the Spanish Super Cup first-leg 2-0 win over Sevilla.
The bad news was none of them started. That shows manager Luis Enrique is happy to rely on his players from last season, who led Barcelona to the league and cup double.
When the chips are down the Asturian coach knows he can turn to his Gala XI—or as much of it as possible—to deliver.
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Of that side, which is Claudio Bravo/Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Dani Alves, Gerard Pique, Javier Mascherano, Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets, Ivan Rakitic, Andres Iniesta, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar, only Alves, Alba and Neymar did not feature.
There was no Alves because he has left and signed for Juventus. Alba is still out of action following both stomach and adductor troubles. And Neymar is in Brazil for the Olympic Games.
The old guard, rather than the new signings, replaced those players.
Alba's absence seemed to make it the perfect time for Lucas Digne to make his debut at left-back. Signed from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer, Digne has played well in pre-season, one of the few players to impress against Liverpool and again in the Joan Gamper Trophy win over Sampdoria on Wednesday.
Yet Enrique opted for Jeremy Mathieu ahead of him. That was a curious decision, especially given Mathieu has never looked totally comfortable in that position since joining Barcelona in 2014.
With Alves gone, Sergi Roberto played out of position to fill the right-back role, with the coach still sceptical—justifiably—over the defensive ability of Aleix Vidal.
Meanwhile, Enrique picked Arda Turan to play on the left wing, where Neymar usually resides, when Denis Suarez was also an option.
The regular centre-back pairing of Pique and Mascherano meant there was no look-in for Samuel Umtiti, while Barcelona's marquee summer signing, Andre Gomes, has a job on to force his way to the front of the midfield queue.
Enrique was showing his new stars something. To be a Barcelona starter, you have to earn it. Unless you're Luis Suarez, it's hard to swan straight into the side.
But then came the good news—albeit not for the club in general, just the new blood.
Mathieu suffered a hamstring injury and had to be taken off early in the first half, allowing Digne the chance he arguably should have had from the start.
Then captain Andres Iniesta, on his 594th game for the club, making him the player with the second-most appearances in Barcelona's history, went down in a heap after a fierce but fair challenge from Sevilla's Gabriel Mercado.
The Argentine got the ball, but he and Iniesta arrived at the same time and collided, with the Barcelona playmaker coming off worse.
He tried to play on but soon realised it wasn’t a good idea, making way for Denis and heading to the bench to strap some ice around his knee.
Barcelona said the player had a bruised knee, but tests on Monday will reveal the full extent of the injury. Regardless of how severe it is, he is not likely to feature in the second leg of the Super Cup on Wednesday at the Camp Nou and may even miss the first game of the season, per Sport.
Nobody at the club, no supporter and even no neutral would say Iniesta's injury is a good thing for Barcelona. But on Sunday night, it opened a door for Denis, and he charged through it, knocking it off his hinges as he ran.
Digne, too, demonstrated his quality both in defence and as an outlet going forward, keeping calm at all times, even as Sevilla turned up the heat in the last 20 minutes of the first half.
It was a fantastic debut from the Frenchman—a performance that said he's not there to make up the numbers.
It would be unwise to take a debut showing in isolation, and the weeks ahead will determine whether he has what it takes to become a key player in the Barcelona side, but this was a job well done.
As for Denis, Xavi's No. 6 shirt looks a good fit. Again, it's just one performance, but all the initial sensations are good.
The player has a knack of making himself available in the right place at the right time, is patient and clever on the ball and has a good understanding with the players around him, despite only having played with them for a few weeks.
It helps he was schooled the Barcelona way before he upped sticks to continue his football education on loan at Sevilla and then Villarreal.
Denis played a big part in namesake Luis' opening goal, as the midfielder spotted Turan in a good position and daintily lofted a pass through for the Turk.
Much-maligned after a disappointing first season with Barcelona, Turan looks determined to prove himself this year, and his work in the build to this goal won't hurt. He chested the ball down perfectly for the Uruguayan forward to bury, breaking Sevilla's resistance and turning the game heavily in Barcelona's favour.
Suarez had been guilty of two misses beforehand, and when this third chance came along, he wasn't going to waste it.
That effectively crushed the Andalusians, who had put in a monumental effort in the first period, dominating Barcelona at times although lacking the lethal edge to put the ball past Bravo—or even in his direction, ending the game with just one shot on target.
It didn't help that they had gone 120 minutes in the UEFA Super Cup against Real Madrid a few days earlier, ending up in a painful last-gasp defeat in extra time.
Barcelona know what it's like to play a Spanish Super Cup right after the European one. They beat Sevilla 5-4 in extra time last year before heading to the Basque Country to face Athletic Bilbao a few days later, and they were beaten black and blue, losing 4-0.
"We had a six-hour return flight from Tblisi and in less than 48 hours we went to Bilbao to play the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup," recalled Enrique before the game, per Sport. "This year we arrive in very different circumstances, not having done the USA tour. This doesn't mean the result will be different—but I hope so."
It certainly was, with a 2-0 win at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan a fine result in anyone's book. The coach was left buzzing afterward. Sport relayed his post-match comments: "This team knows how to sacrifice and compete, because we want all the titles and we've ended up with a magnificent result. We played a good game, as much defensively as in attack, and in the second half we were able to connect with the forwards and open the scoring. I am very happy with everything."
Fans will be pleased too. They will be worried a little, perhaps, at their side's inability to create many clear chances in the first half beyond an early opening for Suarez after a fine pass by Busquets, but delighted with the result.
The chances will come—when Neymar is back unbalancing defences on the left, when Messi is at his fittest and freshest and, most of all, when the new signings click and allow Enrique to use them liberally, keeping the whole side in good condition. Denis and Digne have already started.
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