Barcelona’s Copa Del Rey campaign kicked off with a 1-1 draw against Segunda B side Hercules. With three draws in their last four games, Barcelona has had a poor build up to their biggest game so far this season, the El Clasico.
However, it was wasn’t all about Barcelona as Los Herculanos put up an impressive performance leaving Barcelona with a lot to do in the second leg at the Camp Nou.
With the Clasico in mind, Barcelona went into the game with a second string squad led by Brazillian Rafinha. Samuel Umtiti made his return from injury while Alex Carbonell, Carles Alena and Borja Lopez were given a game. Hercules took the lead early in the second half through David Mainz, but Barcelona was quick to reply through a fantastic goal from Carlos Alena.
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Here are five talking points from the game in Alicante:
#1 Arda Turan’s new role this season
When Turkish midfielder Arda Turan left Atletico Madrid to join FC Barcelona, many would have thought that the Turk would be one of Barcelona’s most important players for the seasons to come. In his first season, Arda Turan was an important first team player who made a fair number of appearances in midfield and slotted into the attack when required.
However, this season, his role seems to be reduced to just playing in the attack. With the arrival of Denis Suarez and Andre Gomes and Rafinha’s return from a long-term injury that he suffered last season, the Turkish player cannot seem to find a place in Barcelona’s midfield and is used as a squad rotation player in the midfield so far.
Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar’s reluctance to being substituted and the arrival of Paco Alcacer leaves Arda Turan featuring in the less important games for Barcelona.
#2 Barcelona's new obsession with crossing
Barcelona, over the last decade or so are known for their quick play, possession and keeping the ball on the ground and playing football the r”ight way”. However, Luis Enrique recognised Barcelona’s underuse of corner and crosses and has considerably improved their skill with air balls. With Luis Suarez up front, Barcelona now has a striker who can control and hold balls which are passed aerially unlike Alexis Sanchez, David Villa or Lionel Messi.
However, Barcelona seems to be using the lofted balls far too often this season, something that breaks their possession play and hands over the ball to the opposition. Lucas Digne and Aleix Vidal attempted quite a few crosses against Hercules, with only a few reaching their intended target. What made matters worse was that Paco Alcacer never really posed a threat to the Hercules defence.
The Catalans seem to have used the ariel route far too many times against Real Sociedad and Malaga. It's fair to say that Barcelona see the ariel route as a new way to break through tough defences when they can’t do it using ground passes. However, is it effective?
#3 Spirited Hercules side give Barcelona a run for their money
While the 1-1 draw at the Estadio Jose Rico Perez last evening was not as shocking as their 2-0 victory against Barcelona at the Camp Nou in 2010, it was just as impressive for Hercules. In 2010, Hercules boasted the likes of David Trezeguet, Nelson Valdez and Royston Drenthe but this team tonight has been struggling in the Segunda B division.
The Barcelona team fielded was not full strength and certainly nothing as good as the team that was beaten 2-0 six years ago, but Hercules, a team that was been on a downward spiral since their lone season in the top division, came out all guns blazing tonight in the first leg.
Defensively, Hercules were impressive and they managed to cut down gaps and frustrate Barcelona. They were dangerous on the counter-attack and troubled Barcelona on many occasions throughout the game.
#4 Was loaning out Munir and signing Paco Alcacer a good move?
Barcelona were very active in the summer transfer window, signing five young players. However, the signing that raised many eyebrows in Spain was the move of Paco Alcacer from Valencia. The Catalans sold Sandro Ramirez and loaned out promising youngster Munir El Haddadi out in the summer leaving Alcacer as the sole backup to star striker Luis Suarez.
With a hefty €30 million price tag splashed on Paco Alcacer, the striker was expected to make an impact on the side whenever he was called upon, but once again Paco Alcacer was nowhere to be seen against Hercules. The former Valencia striker was given plenty of support from the understanding Barcelona fans in his first few appearances for the club but it seems like Barcelona’s supporters may be running out of patience.
Luis Suarez was himself no stranger to a long goalless run at the start of his Barcelona career but the Uruguayan was fantastic off the ball. Paco Alcacer has added nothing to the current Barcelona team and does not seem to be an upgrade on Munir.
#5 Carles Alena – The next big La Masia product or just another early bloomer?
While it is certainly too early to make assumptions on Carles Alena, the 18-year old has certainly caught the eyes of many with his performance against Hercules. The midfielder played a role similar to that of Sergio Busquets and was fantastic with his movement on and off the ball. To cap off a fantastic performance, the youngster scored a stunner putting Barcelona back on level terms with Hercules.
Over the years, Barcelona has boasted many fantastic youngsters but in the recent past, an increasing and alarming number of players have failed to break into the Barcelona team. Cristian Telo, Isaac Cuenca, Andreu Fontas, Johnathan Dos Santos, Bojan Krkic, Gerrard Delofelou – to name a few, are players who showed signs of greatness but never broke into the Barcelona team.
On the other hand, players like Thiago Alcantara and Sergi Roberto have had their progress hampered by too many midfield options in the team. What could be the outcome for Carles Alena? Only time will tell.
