Another really good performance by the Blaugrana yesterday further proves that Barcelona is more than just Lionel Messi.
Barcelona defeated Sporting Gijon by 5 goals to nil yesterday to move one point behind rivals Real Madrid in the La Liga table. This was the first match that Barca played without their star man Lionel Messi. The Argentine suffered a groin injury that will leave him sidelined for 3 weeks. This meant that the other stars, Neymar and Luis Suárez had to step up in Messi’s absence. Yesterday, they both did just that and got a lot of help from the supporting cast as well.
While Messi is a game changer and Barca need him for further success, the team has done very well whenever he hasn’t played. In fact, in the Luis Enrique era, Barca have played 17 games without the little magician. In those games Barcelona has 14 wins, two draws, and one loss. That’s an unbelievable record without one of the worlds best footballers. The Barca boss deserves some credit for using his other attackers the right way and for preparing them for big situations.
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Barca are once again trying to prove that they are more than just one unbelievable player. Instead, they are a team that can get contributions from other players when they need to contribute. Arda Turan scored, Rafinha scored, and Sergi Roberto was a big part of 3 of Barca’s 5 goals yesterday. While the role players did well, there were also big contributions from the Barca stars. The other two-thirds of the MSN trident, Neymar and Suárez had a brace and a goal respectively.
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Overall, this match against Sporting Gijon was a good sign going forward for Barcelona. However, there will be tougher games in the days and weeks ahead. In fact, Barca’s next match is in the Champions League against Borussia Monchengladbach in Germany on Wednesday. This will not be an easy task for the Catalans so they will have to sharp in training and in this match. Hopefully, there are more positive results for Barcelona while Lionel Messi rests.
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