Barcelona fell to a shocking first league defeat of the season at minnows Leganes, with two second-half goals in the space of a minute condemning the Catalans 2-1 on Wednesday.
Philippe Coutinho broke the deadlock, but Nabil El Zhar and Oscar Rodriguez struck in the 52nd and 53rd minutes to turn the game on its head, and La Liga leaders Barcelona could not fight their way back in.
Positives
Few, although Luis Suarez and Jordi Alba getting an hour’s rest is a good thing despite it playing a part in this disappointing outcome.
Negatives
Where to start? From Barcelona’s lack of gumption when it came to trying to fight their way back into the game, to another Gerard Pique mistake costing a goal, this was an abysmal display. It should be a worry that none of the new signings look like finding their footing, yet the “old guard” are now struggling too.
Manager rating (out of 10)
3 — Ernesto Valverde saw the negative effect rotation had against Girona and doubled down on it, taking Suarez and Alba out for Munir El Haddadi and Thomas Vermaelen, both of whom failed to impress. Worse still, he could not make changes from the bench that affected the game, instead making like-for-like subs that caused Leganes no problems.
Player ratings (1-10, with 10 the best. Players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating)
GK Marc-Andre ter Stegen, 6 — The German goalkeeper was let down by the men in front of him. Ter Stegen had no chance with either of the two goals and dealt with everything else that came his way without much fuss.
DF Sergi Roberto, 5 — Although Sergi Roberto started the game well, along with the team he lost his way. Didn’t do enough to shut down Jonathan Silva for Leganes’ equaliser, with the left-back crossing for El Zhar to head home.
DF Gerard Pique, 4 — The Barcelona defender, who made two bad mistakes against Girona on the weekend that led to goals, completed his unwanted hat trick at Butarque with an absolutely bizarre pass to Rodriguez in front of his own goal. Pique’s head does not appear to be in the game at the moment.
DF Samuel Umtiti, 5 — The Frenchman was ineffective after coming on against Girona and had another bad night here. He was not on the scene for either of Leganes’ goals, which is not great for a central defender. Beaten for strength at the end that could have led to a third goal.
DF Thomas Vermaelen, 5 — Valverde picked the Belgian for the first time this season, playing him out of position at left-back in a bid to rest Alba, who has no natural replacement in the squad. Unsurprisingly perhaps, Vermaelen was out of position as El Zhar headed in the opening goal and he made way shortly after for Alba.
MF Sergio Busquets, 5 — One of the poorest performances in recent memory from Barcelona’s metronome. Misplaced passes and was unable to break up Leganes’ play. When Busquets does not play well, it is very rare that Barcelona do.
MF Ivan Rakitic, 6 — The Croatian was one of just a couple of players who can hold his head up after this game. Rakitic worked tirelessly, albeit not always to good effect, and came close to equalising with an effort that was tipped over by Ivan Cuellar.
MF Philippe Coutinho, 6 — The Brazilian scored Barcelona’s only goal with a nice piece of improvisation on the edge of the area, controlling Lionel Messi’s pass (which jumped up) and volleying it home in impressive fashion. After that he failed to deliver, not connecting with his teammates.