FT. Salzburg 2-1 Barcelona: Players Ratings – Araujo 8.5, De Jong 4 & Others

FC Barcelona recorded their first loss of the pre-season after winning their previous three. A 2-1 loss to Salzburg brought the Catalans 100 percent pre-season to an end. After the game, we have taken a look at how our players performed;

Ronald Araujo – 8.5

The Uruguayan was Barcelona’s only secure defender during the clash against Salzburg, at least from those who started the game. Thanks to his agility and anticipation, Araujo stopped several dangerous attacks from the hosts, including a two-on-one situation.

Though he still lacks a bit in the passing department.

Memphis Depay – 8

The impressive thing about Memphis is the confidence he has when going forward. The Dutchman created several good opportunities for himself and his teammates.

We should also highlight the good runs he made throughout the game. However, the negative side is that the rest of the players didn’t always support him upfront.

Alejandro Balde – 7

Despite only playing for about half an hour, the 18-year-old left a good impression. Balde is good in one-on-one situations both in attack and defense, a very promising sign.

We have to remark his courage as well, not all teenagers would look as composed playing for the Catalans.

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Antoine Griezmann – 5.5

His chip over the crossbar aside, Griezmann was almost invisible upfront. It’s true that he covered a lot of ground and defended quite well as usual, but that’s not exactly what you would expect from a forward when facing a side like Salzburg, with all due respect to the Austrians.

Frenkie de Jong – 4

De Jong as a center-back is always a risk, and Koeman has to understand that as soon as possible. Playing him in a system with three at the back gives us the advantage of having him start our attacks.

However, it comes at the expense of being vulnerable defensively. De Jong didn’t close in on his marker in the first goal and he nearly cost us a second goal after the break.

The Dutchman simply let the attacker get the ball thinking that Neto would go out of the goal. Well, he didn’t, and someone who’s used to playing as a defender might have not taken that risk, after all.

Other starters: Neto – 5.5, Lenglet – 5, Dest – 5, Alba – 5, Busquets – 6, Nico – 6, Gavi – 6.5.

Other subs: Comas – 6, Braithwaite – 6.5, Roberto – 6, Umtiti – 6.5 Puig – 6.5, Demir – 6.5, Manaj – n/a.