Osasuna 2-2 Barcelona: 3 Men who were impressive for the Blaugrana

#1 Arthur Melo

Arthur Melo (No. 8) was brilliant after coming on off the bench

Just like last weekend, the Brazilian found himself on the bench once more, as Valverde eased him back from injury. At home against Real Betis, the Spaniard had opted not to use Arthur Melo, as Barcelona cruised to a 5-2 victory. Against Osasuna though, the story was entirely different.

The Catalans were missing the guile and penetration from the middle of the park that was required to break down a resolute Osasuna defense. Frenkie de Jong and Sergi Roberto failed to have an impact in the first half and Valverde opted to change things around right after Barcelona scored the equalizer. He took off Rafinha and introduced Arthur, who had an instant impact in the game.

The Brazilian took charge in the midfield and his passing and movement unsettled the home side. Arthur had been outstanding for the Catalans last season but needed to add a goalscoring edge to his game. Within a minute of coming on, though, he took a pass from Carles Perez, brilliantly carved out some space in the box and curled one into the far corner to give his team the lead.

Arthur continued to dictate terms for Barcelona after giving them the lead. He churned out quite a few chances for his team, however, the forward players were guilty of missing clear cut chances, which resulted in the draw.