Rakuten Cup: Barcelona 1-2 Chelsea - 3 Barcelona players that were the most disappointing

Ernesto Valverde's men kicked off their preparations for next season with a friendly fixture in the Rakuten Cup against Chelsea in Japan.

While their Premier League opponents have been in action for the last one week, the Catalans were playing in their first preseason fixture and the difference was clear, as Chelsea players looked more match fit and in form than their Barcelona counterparts.

The game ended with a 2-1 victory for Chelsea, with goals from Tammy Abraham and Ross Barkley settling the contest, while Ivan Rakitic gave Barcelona a late consolation.

There were a number of players who would have impressed Valverde with their performances like Frenkie de Jong and Malcom, but he was have been disappointed by the output of some of his players.

In this piece, we shall be highlighting three players who performed below par in the game against Chelsea.

#1 Ousmane Dembele

Dembele failed to make the most of his appearance

Ousmane Dembele is very much on a short lease at Barcelona, as his persistent injury troubles and disciplinary issues have not allowed him to blossom in a Barcelona shirt.

This lease has been made even shorter by the arrival of Griezmann and proposed transfer of Neymar and as such, every opportunity presented Dembele in a Barcelona shirt is one he should grab with both feet.

The 22-year-old was handed a start against Chelsea but failed to pull his weight, wasting a number of good chances in the first half, while also showing selfishness on occasion by electing to go for goal rather than pass to better placed teammates.

He was substituted at half-time for Carles Perez and the youngster arguably performed better than him while another competitor for starting shirt; Malcom also created the assist for Barcelona's goal.

Given that Dembele ended last season on the injury table, the match against Chelsea offered a chance to prove his worth to Valverde but this is an opportunity that he spurned.

#2 Sergio Busquets

Busquets gave away the ball that led to Chelsea's opener

Over the last decade, Sergio Busquets has played his way into being considered arguably the best holding midfielder and indeed one of the greatest of all time.

The 31-year-old has played a starring role in each of Barcelona's successes in his time at the club, with his pristine ball-winning abilities and extreme composure under pressure being of optimum importance to their possession-based style of play.

Against Chelsea, the Spanish international was the experienced head in a midfield also containing youngster Riqui Puig and an unfamiliar Sergi Roberto.

In what was an uncharacteristic display from Sergio Busquets, he showed a sloppiness on the ball and it was due to a mistake by him that Chelsea opened the scoring, as Jorginho pounced on his loose ball to thread the ball for Tammy Abraham.

He was substituted for Ivan Rakitic during the interval having failed to make a mark for the entirety of his 45-minute cameo on the pitch and Barcelona fans would be hoping this was just a one-off due to match rustiness from their ever-reliable midfield lynchpin.

#1 Antoine Griezmann

Griezmann was quiet in the second half

It seems a bit harsh classifying Griezmann as a disappointment, as the French international was Barcelona's brightest spark in the first half.

The 28-year-old was making his first appearance in a Barcelona shirt after completing his highly protracted transfer earlier in the summer and would understandably have had all eyes on him.

Griezmann starred in the first half, fashioning a number of chances for his teammates and had a shot at goal, but he would not want to see replays of an incident in the 25th minute when he lashed out at thin air after being presented with a decent goalscoring opportunity.

While his first-half display was impressive, the World Cup winner faded after the break and failed to make any meaningful contribution through the course of his time on the pitch.

Griezmann was the highest-profile Barcelona player on display against Chelsea and seeing as this was his first match in a Barcelona shirt (albeit unofficially), a bit more would have been expected from him.