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Lyon hosted Barcelona in the first leg of the round of 16 tie. With captain and ace player Nabil Fekir suspended for the game, Memphis Depay slotted into the attacking midfielder role. Terrier and Traore flanked him on both sides while Aouar and Ndombele provided the screening to the defense.
Philippe Coutinho started on the bench and Sergi Roberto started in a midfield role. The first half got off to a flying start with both teams pressing well and going end to end. Barcelona had two to three good chances put to waste by their finishing while Lyon had one or two denied at the other end by Barcelona's #1.
In the second half, Barcelona caught Lyon by their scruffs and put their feet on their pedal. The possession, passing, and shots at goal began to rise rapidly and so did the frustrations of the Barcelona players. Bruno Genesio's side blocked all inroads into the box and even though the Blaugrana created some chances, they were put to waste as well or saved by Anthony Lopes.
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The result leaves it all to play for at the Camp Nou. With their captain returning for the second leg and only needing a draw provided they score, Lyon will fancy their chances of dumping La Blaugrana out of the competition.
Here are five hits and flops from the game.
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#5 Flop: Memphis Depay
The Dutch international was played out of position in a central attacking midfield role and it is safe to say that it showed in his game. He did not get any of his shots to hit the target as two of his shots were blocked and the other was off target.
He did not complete any dribble and was caught sleeping on the pitch by Lionel Messi. Messi pinched the ball from under his nose without any struggle and ran into the open field ahead. Thankfully for Depay, no damage was done due to his catnapping on the middle of the field.
He was dispossessed thrice in possession. There were opportunities for him from set-pieces and crossing opportunities, and we can distinctly remember him sailing those waywardly away from goal.
There was one very good opportunity for him to take Gerard Pique for a joy-ride with some pace. He couldn't wriggle past him and in the end, took too bad a touch to take the ball wide away from goal and cross to no effect. He played in Fekir's position but clearly didn't fill his void.
#4 Hit: Jason Denayer
The Manchester City Academy graduate Jason Denayer had been rock-solid in the defense along with Marcelo. We saw what he could do when he played against his former team in the group stages. Yesterday against Barcelona, he gave more insights into why Manchester City might be looking to have their academy product back in their ranks.
Jason Denayer, even though you will notice his hair more than his gameplay, was immense alongside Marcelo in the middle. The young Belgian international had the measure of each and every person who drove at him. He was dribbled past only once in the game and you don't get any prizes for guessing who the culprit was. Denayer's positioning and man-marking during corners and free-kicks were commendable.
He had the measure of Luis Suarez on most occasions. The Uruguayan was eaten alive by Denayer whenever he tried to move past him. Suarez was left looking for his dribbling boots. Denayer denied Suarez the opportunity to score at least twice in the game. He made two shot blocks, 4 interceptions, and 7 clearances. His defensive prowess would be needed more in the second leg.
#3 Flop: Luis Suarez
Horrendous. That is what describes Suarez against Lyon. He missed chances, not the easiest ones, but surely easy for a Barcelona player. His first touch was utterly poor, giving Denayer and Marcelo the advantage over his already dead pace on most occasions. Jordi Alba's through lob was neat, but instead of jostling for it with Marcelo, he went ahead into the open field, hoping it would somehow make it.
Even on occasions when he had Lionel Messi with him, he looked confused. When he truly had the upper hand over Lopes to finish, he caught Messi off guard by trying to pass to him and ended up wasting the chance. When Messi wanted the ball from right in front of the 6-yard box, he did not pass and neither did he finish quickly, giving Marcelo all the time he needed to get back and blast the ball away.
The only thing that Suarez did good yesterday was a through ball to Messi, almost inch-perfect. We are afraid that would not be enough for a Barcelona striker. Poor control, first touch, and not to mention decision making and finishing.
#2 Hit: Gerard Pique
Slow. Old. Finished. The three words that people so love to describe Gerard Pique with. He is certainly getting older, 32 now, but he has been called slow for his entire career and still manages to stay at the top-level. He is far from finished, given his recent performances for Barcelona.
If we are talking stats here are Gerard Pique's numbers from the game. 2 clearances, 1 shot blocked, 2 interceptions, 3 successful tackles out of 4, 6 out of 8 duels won. What better numbers do you need defensively? To put things into perspective, the numbers don't tell the whole story. Pique did whatever he could to help his team get an away goal by guarding the defense alone along with Lenglet. He did that with a Lyon side who boasted of the pace from Traore, Depay, Dembele, Ndombele, and Aouar too.
Whenever a counter-attack started to take shape, he halted it and put the ball back to his teammates. Maybe that's why he completed 49 passes with 86% success rate. He came clutch in moments where Barcelona could have conceded. His last ditch tackle on Moussa Dembele saved Barcelona from what certainly was a 1v1 situation.
His presence of mind against Depay, even after being exposed and certainly at a disadvantage for pace, was impressive. He didn't allow the Dutch breathing space while heading into the box and forced him to go wide, in the end, making it easy for Ter Stegen to save the cutback.
#1 Hit: Lionel Messi
A poor performance from the little man if we look at his standards. But there aren't many players on the pitch that you could say were better than this man. It is funny when we have to name him as a hit when he clearly was not at his best, but then again, who could we prefer over him?
He did everything possible, everything that he doesn't usually like to do, to get an away goal at France. From pressing the players early to dispossessing the wits out of Memphis Depay, Messi meant business from the starting whistle. His only problem yesterday was his finishing.
He missed a clear shot on target, one which he could and should have scored, in all honesty. But he was the one who created it in the first place with a beautiful ball to Alba. In fact, Messi was the one doing all the link-up play. Dembele was wasteful with his passes, Suarez doesn't need special mentions. Messi got dispossessed 4 times. Big stat.
But when you realize that in Arthur's absence, the midfield duo of Rakitic and Roberto made minimal efforts to get him the ball, you will change your point of view on that. Messi had to drop as deep as Busquets to get the ball and then he dribbled from there on to find Alba or Semedo or to go himself. He created the peach of a chance for Rakitic which he dragged wide. He created for Suarez which he wasted twice. Messi won 9 duels out of 15 yesterday.
If anything he could have done better, we repeat it was his finishing. He was wasteful with the chance that Alba created for him and with the two free-kicks that he won for himself. Still, Lyon's defense would remember the moment when they clattered into one another as the little man wriggled and tiptoes past them.
