Lionel Messi and his teammates had a perfect match against Valladolid. Koeman made a very interesting decision regarding the starting line-up.
Starting line-up from Koeman
Ronald made a few interesting decisions yesterday against Valladolid. First of all, he decided to play with five defenders. Dest and Alba were playing as the full-backs but they had total freedom in the attacking line. So, three defenders were in the midfield and during the counter-attacks of Valladolid, they were taking roles of Alba and Dest. It was a perfect strategy for Barcelona as the team dominated in the first half.
Lionel Messi was in the starting line-up. Journalists thought that Messi would get a rest as he was ready for Christmas vacation already. Koeman decided to bench Griezmann and Coutinho. At the same time, Pjanic and Pedri were playing from the very first minute.
3 goals from Barcelona
Many Barca’s related hash-tags went viral on twitter after the game. Fans were happy with the result and maybe old Messi is back? During the match, Lionel Messi was very confident and he was very impressed with the quality of Pedri. Young Spanish player was playing perfectly in the midfield. Even his backheel to Messi was impressive and Lionel even congratulated him for a good performance. Barca took the lead in the 21st minute. After Messi’s pass, Lenglet scored a goal. In just a few minutes, Barca increased the lead thanks to Braithwaite. In the second half, Pedri assisted Lionel and the Argentinian player scored the goal. Overall, Barca was really good on Tuesday night and took deserved three points from Valladolid.