Top 5 Barcelona first team players who have developed immensely under Ernesto Valverde

#3 Jordi Alba

Jordi Alba scored the all-important winning goal against Valencia

Certainly the Barcelona player who has developed the most in the new season, the fullback is in a splendid run of form. Criticized by fans last season due to his poor timing and mindless running, the tides have turned for the Spaniard, who certainly looks to be back at his best under the Txingurri.

Boosted by a revival of form, the formidable and infamous partnership between Leo Messi and Alba is back among the charts. Contributing to a blistering six goals in the Spanish league, with five assists and a winner against Valencia to his name, Jordi's contribution to both the defence and offence is one of the central reasons behind Barcelona's unbeaten run.

The link-up he forms with Leo Messi is deemed as one of the dangerous partnerships in European football, as the latter has all the capabilities to play that perfect ball to find the overlapping run of Alba, who almost every time nods the ball off perfectly in line for one of the Barcelona forwards to score. The Spaniard has been labelled as the 'new Dani Alves', owing to his chemistry with Leo Messi.

"Whenever I can, I look to Messi because he scores almost every time. Messi is the best in history and a very important player for the team. This is not just from a football perspective, but also a personal one." - Jordi Alba

Jordi Alba and Messi have formed a deadly duo

His immense work-rate has traditionally complemented his lightning pace, but Ernesto Valverde's balanced tactics and game-plan have kept a check on the Spaniard's stamina, who now checks all the boxes to be a threat for the opposition.

Perhaps the only person linked with the Catalan club who has been benefitted from Neymar's big-money move to Paris, the Spaniard has enjoyed greater freedom on the flanks to overlap over opposition defenders. Surprisingly, even with all his going-forward and searching for killer balls into the penalty box, Jordi Abla maintains a healthy pass success rate of 88.4% in the Spanish League, which even goes beyond 91% when the fullback represents Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League.

Athletic Club v Barcelona - La Liga

Alba's chemistry with Andres Iniesta also contributes significantly to the former's independence on the left flank. Iniesta, the creative playmaker for the Catalans, has been granted the room to go forward and contribute to the build-up thanks to Jordi Alba's covering and the ability to track back on opposition counter-attacks, all due to his blazing fast speed and lightning quick acceleration.

Controlling the tempo of the game, assisting teammates or scoring goals, name whatever you want, Jordi Alba has restarted doing what he does best, and that certainly adds to a lot of problems for the oppositions.