Barcelona players Rating vs Sevilla: De Jong-5 and Busquets-4 looking lost and foolish in Barca midfield

After winning two of their last Laliga games Sevilla was going to be the best test for Barcelona new manager. Barcelona looks like the 8-2 team in that game with no intensity against a team with high pressing and intensity.

Koeman came up against Sevilla with the same formation he played against Celta and Villareal trusting inexperience Fati ahead of experience Dembele which would have been the best fit for the Sevilla clash

let's take a look at the worst and best players from Sevilla game

Did well
Messi — 8
The match against Sevilla felt like Ernesto Valverde's Barcelona was back, as Leo Messi was the only creative force on the field. And if it was kind of acceptable before, when the Argentine played on the right-wing. In tonight's match we saw Messi, the nominal striker, drop into midfield to create chances.

In the position Ronald Koeman wants to see Leo play, he's supposed to get the ball delivered to him from midfield, but that was absolutely not the case this time. Again, Messi did all he could, and our only goal came in big part thanks to him.

90 mins
1/3 shots on target
3/5 dribbles
60/66 passes
2 key passes
2/2 long balls
1 big chance created

Coutinho — 7
As much as it hurts to say, Philippe Coutinho looked more like his old self vs Sevilla. The Brazilian is good on counters but struggles against a packed midfield. Still, he did quite well with the limited chances he got, and what's more important, he scored our only goal of the night.

75 mins
1 goal
33/38 passes
1/2 crosses
1 tackle

Araujo — 7
The fact that Ronald Araujo is still registered as a Barcelona B player is an insult to his capabilities. Against Sevilla, the Uruguayan showed that he's ready to compete with Gerard Pique and Clement Lenglet for the starting spot. Sure, he had a few blunders, and he's not as good in build-up, but he's only 21 years old after all. Araujo definitely deserves more chances this season.

90 mins
1 tackle
4/4 ground duels won
1/3 aerial duels won
59/66 passes
1 key pass
4/8 long balls

Disappointed
Busquets — 4
Sergio Busquets was a phantom of the player we saw on Thursday vs Celta Vigo. The Spaniard was sloppy on the ball, his positioning was bad, and he looked exhausted. At 32 years old, he should be a rotational player, not someone that plays full 90 minutes thee times inside a week.

90 mins
71/77 passes
3 key passes
3/4 long balls
10 balls lost
8/13 ground duels won
1/2 aerial duels won
3 tackles
2 interceptions

De Jong — 5
Although not as bad as his partner in midfield, Frenkie de Jong looked poor throughout the match. The problem with the De Jong-Busquets pairing is that they both are rather defensive midfielders.

Koeman clearly expects Frenkie to be more involved in attack but that's not something the Dutchman can offer, he's not too good at taking risks. What De Jong needs is to have a creative midfielder next to him, or for the team to go back to the 4-3-3 formation.

90 mins
46/56 passes
0 key passes
2/2 long balls
1 shot blocked
2/2 dribbles
6/7 ground duels won
1/3 aerial duels won
11 balls lost
2 tackles
Others: Neto — 5, Pique — 5.5, Alba — 5, Griezmann — 5.5, Fati — 6, Dest — 6, Pedri — 5, Pjanic — 6, Trincao — 6.