As so often, Lionel Messi was the inspiration as Barcelona finished the season by claiming the Copa del Rey trophy with a straightforward-in-the-end 3-1 win over Alaves on Sunday evening at the Estadio Vicente Calderon.
Messi opened the scoring in trademark fashion on the half-hour mark, and after Theo Hernandez's free kick missile equaliser, the Argentine laid on two quick goals for Neymar and Paco Alcacer to ensure the Blaugrana side went in at the break 3-1 up.
The second 45 minutes was less eventful, and Andres Iniesta received the trophy from Spain's King Felipe, at the end of the last ever game at the Calderon.
Alaves' commitment and organisation in their first ever Copa del Rey final made it a difficult first 30 minutes for Barca, and Ibai Gomez almost gave the underdogs a shock lead. But Messi took control, playing a one-two with Neymar before curling a low left footer to the net from the edge of the penalty area.
The Basques came right back up and shocked the not-quite-full Calderon by equalising within just three minutes. Emerging star left-back Theo smashed a perfect free kick to the top corner, and suddenly Barca were looking shaky, with goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen particularly uncomfortable.
The Catalan side are used to this situation though, and quickly hit back themselves. Samuel Umtiti began a move in his own half, Messi took over and freed Andre Gomes inside the box, with his unselfish assist being knocked into the net by Neymar from close range.
Messi was soon involved again, skipping past two challenges as he cut in from the sideline, drawing defenders towards him, and then slipping a pass to Alcacer who turned and smashed the ball home from 10 yards.
The second half saw Barca mostly dominating possession, and Messi often dropping deep to control the tempo. Alcacer went close again, and Iniesta thumped a shot high from 20 yards. At the other end Alaves had a late rally, and centre-forward Deyverson scooped the ball past Cillessen but the offside flag was up.
Messi now has 26 goals and 10 assists in 25 different finals for Barca, 20 of which were victories. The Argentine was unable to pull his team through in the other two major competitions this season, but he was again head and shoulders above everyone on Saturday night.
Luis Enrique's final game ended with another trophy, meaning the team have won nine of 13 competitions entered during his three seasons in charge. This is a fantastic record, but with diminishing returns.
His first campaign brought just the second Champions League, La Liga and Copa del Rey Treble in Spanish football history, his second season a domestic double. Now this year's Copa trophy will not really even be seen as a consolation prize, especially if Real Madrid add the Champions League to their Liga title next weekend.
Saturday's game was not a bad representation of Barca's season. If any player sums up their 2016-17 it is Andre Gomes, and the much maligned midfielder was called in early at right-back for a concussed Javier Mascherano. A slip from the former Valencia player almost gave Alaves an opener, but he then gave Neymar a tap-in for the key 2-1 goal, in a mixed bag of a performance.
Barca in general had some moments of sparkling football, mixed with some dodgy moments at the back, and a continuing reliance on Messi to make sure they came through. It remains to be seen how history will judge Luis Enrique's three years at the Camp Nou, and his strained relationship with the local pundits counts against him. His trophy record comes close to that of his former teammate Pep Guardiola, but the Asturian has not left anything like the same legacy behind.
This victory also sets things up quite nicely for presumed new Barca coach Ernesto Valverde, whose first test will be two Clasicos against Real Madrid in August's Super Copa double-header. It will be interesting to see what he does with a squad that has stalled in Luis Enrique's last year.
No comments:
Post a Comment