Valdes : The Catalan shot stopper made a couple of saves from Bilic in the first half. Quick to react whenever he was called into action and made no mistakes on the night. Had a very quiet 90 minutes as Sporting failed to threaten to score and will be glad to have picked up his fourth clean sheet in a row. – 6.5
Puyol : In the absence of the Dani Alves , El Capitan slotted in at right back against the hosts and did a good job defensively, a perfect sliding tackle to dispossess Sporting forward Bilic, who was through on goal, stands out. Got forward quite often as the game opened up in the latter stages. A good stand in performance by the veteran. – 7
Marquez : Justified his inclusion ahead of the likes of Chygrynskiy and Milito with a solid performance in the centre of defense. Did what was asked of him and dealt with the Sporting pressure well in the final minutes of the game and also had a decent free kick attempt on goal. – 6
Pique : With Sporting struggling to create goal scoring opportunites, he had a very quiet game until Barca came under a lot of pressure in the closing stages with the hosts roaring forward. Made a couple of good interceptions to cap off a strong defensive performance. – 6.5
Abidal : The Frenchman, who has been in superb form as of late, put in another impressive performance. Had Carmello in his pocket, as he stole the ball off the winger and won back possession on a number of ocassions. Contributed going forward as well making his runs down the flank providing that extra attacking option down the left and won a few corners while crossing. One of the Blaugrana’s most improved players of the season. – 7.5
Busquets : Did not contribute much offensively, but did a great job of putting pressure on the Sporting midfield. Did well to maintain possession and his distribution was good. – 6.5
Xavi : The midfield talisman put in a typical performance in midfield. He was at the centre of everything his team did and kept the ball fantastically well. Linked up with Iniesta and Messi very well and was the main reason why the Blaugrana had 65% possession. – 7.5
Iniesta : El Illusionista was on the receiving end of some hard tackles all night including a horrendous challenge by Portilla. Was a nuisance all night for Sporting as their physical midfield failed to contain San Andres. Dribbled past players and made some great passes. Found himself one on one against Juan Pablo early on , but his shot hit the keepers face and went wide. Put Pedro through on goal with a perfect pass on 28 minutes. Displayed a telepathic understanding with Xavi and showed once again why their midfield partnership is the best in the world. -7.5
Messi : The FIFA World player of the year made some mesmerizing runs as he took on the Sporting defenders without hesitation. Cut inside quite often and always looked to put his teammates through on goal and even had a long range shot on goal. Cleverly took a quick freekick which resulted in Pedro’s matchwinning goal. He had a great opportunity to get on the scoresheet minutes before full time, when he was played in by Pedrito but his shot went wide of the post. - 7
Pedro : The latest star to come out of La Masia, decided yet another game when he coolly slotted past Juan Pablo after being put through on goal by Iniesta. Ran alot down the flank, helping out defensively as well. Could have had killed the game off as a contest, but he scuffed a couple of opportunities when he sent his shot into the stands after picking up the loose ball right on the edge of the box, and then failed to make contact with Ibrahimovic’s cross right across the goal line. Provided Messi with a great chance to score late in the game. Linked up very well with his teammates all night and will be delighted to have scored his 6th league goal of the season at a difficult stadium. – 7.5
Ibrahimovic :The goal drought continues for the Swede as he failed to get on the scoresheet despite getting quite a few half chances. Failed to hit the target a number of times, and lost the ball on several ocassions as well early on. Improved alot in the second half, but it just wasn’t his night and he has now gone 5 league games without scoring. – 5
Bojan : N/A
