Levante 0 - 2 Barcelona: Five Talking Points

In what was a mediocre game for Barcelona, the league leaders defeated Levante by two goals in a not so convincing manner. The way the game played couldn't have been more different from the one against Valencia earlier this week.Levante looked impressive from the very onset and had many chances which they squandered off, before Barcelona scored a goal against the run of the play. The goal was actually an own goal from Levante captain David Navarro which came in the 21st minute off a Jordi Alba cross. Morales almost equalised for the hosts in the 37th minute when the ball hit the post. The rest of the game was seemingly uneventful as both teams struggled to move forward. Luis Suarez ended up scoring a second for Barcelona in the very last minute of the additional time to seal the game. Here are the major talking points from the game.

#1 New milestones for Luis Enrique

Luis Enrique has a better win percentage that Pep Guardiola

This game marked the 100th game in charge for the Barcelona manager Luis Enrique. Joining the club at the beginning of the last season, the former Barcelona player has had a dream run with the catalans. Having won five trophies last season, thanks to him, Barcelona are the favorites to win many more again this time around.

With this victory, Luis Enrique has also equaled Pep Guardiola’s unbeaten record at Barcelona of 28 games, having not lost a single game since the loss against Sevilla in October. This record seems almost sure to be broken as Barca play the next game against none other than Valencia, the team they battered 7-0 earlier this week.

Out of the 100 games he has managed, Barcelona have won 80 out of them, which is a brilliant achievement in itself. Looks like he is here to stay for a long time.

#2 Time for Vidal to replace Alves?

Dani Alves had a poor game against Levante

Dani Alves hasn’t been at his very best these past few games. He might have provided a couple of assists this year, but he certainly has been struggling defensively. Even today, the Brazilian was probably the worst player on the pitch.

His mind didn’t seem to be in the the game at all and he was caught in awkward positions quite a few times. He was also lacklusture in the attacking department. His crosses were poor and he hardly made any forward runs. Losing the bass just too easily didn’t help his overall performance either.

He was finally subbed off for Aleix Vidal in the 74th minute. Vidal had a pretty decent game for the few minutes he played. He did end up making a couple of mistakes, but was certalinly better than Alves overall. It might just be the perfect time for the Spaniard to take over Alves’s place in the starting XI.

#3 Pique to miss next game

Gerard Pique will miss the game against Celta Vigo

Gerard Pique is all set to miss the all important game against Celta Vigo next week. He picked up a yellow card for a handball after having been warned for the same action moment before.

This incident could smell trouble for the Catalans. Celta Vigo have always been tough for Barcelona to beat, and with Pique’s absence this task is going to be even tougher. The last encounter between the two teams had been humiliating for the Catalans when they had been thrashed 4-1 away from home back in September.

Pique was great in defense though, stopping the Levante forward line from making any threats at the goal. He made a quite a few crucial tackles and was great with the ball, as he has been for the whole season. His absence is surely going to be a problem and it only waits to be seen who replaces him in the starting lineup.

#4 Suarez becomes top scorer of La Liga

Luis Suarez is in the pichichi race

Luis Suarez’s late goal sent him on top of the Liga scoring charts once again. The Uruguayan has been in blistering form this season, scoring quite a large amount of goals, and that too beautiful ones. While the top scorer status is only temporary as Real Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo are yet to play later today, Suarez definitely seems the frontrunner to take it in the end, given his current form.

Suarez has scored a total of 36 goals in all competitions this season and doesnt look in the mood to stop. This is a sensational feat considering the fact that he is not the penalty taker for the club, the responsibility which rests on the shoulders of Lionel Messi.

Goals aside, his attacking and defensive workrates have also been phenomenal. He has made a name for himself as the nest striker in the world.

#5 Barcelona looking tired

Tiredness nearly cost Barcelona against Levante

Barcelona might have been on a long unbeaten run, but the tiredness of the squad is starting to show. The squad has had to play a game almost every three days for more than two months now, and this same is going to continue if they have a good Champion’s League run, which is more than a likely scenario.

The Barcelona squad seemed tired and didn’t seem that eager to move forward in today’s game like we have come to expect of them. There were countless instances of poor passing, easily losing the ball and struggling to keep up in pace with the Levante squad.

The same was in the case against last week’s encounter against title rivals Atletico Madrid, when Barcelona couldn’t make a single impressive attacking move, even after having reduced Atletico to nine men. This is clearly an alarming situation and Luis Enrique certainly needs to work on the rotations if Barcelona are to have another great season.