Barcelona were a goal down in El Madrigal late on Sunday night when they were awarded a last-minute free kick. A defeat would have seriously hampered their already shaky position in the Primera Liga, but Lionel Messi stepped up. Despite all the pressure, he scored to rescue a 1-1 draw.
This may be a week for Cristiano Ronaldo to be feted with individual awards, but Messi remains a game changer and Barca's greatest hope of retaining the league.
The draw wasn’t ideal for Barca. They have slipped to third, a point behind Sevilla and five behind Real Madrid, who have a game in hand. But they were playing at Villarreal against the team with the best defence in the league, a side who play attractive counter-attacking football and who forced Barca into mistakes.
It was an excellent, intense game, and the latest sign that Barca – while still one of the best teams in the world – are suffering from a subtle decline. They can still beat anyone and they can still win trophies. While Messi and Andres Iniesta play this will remain true.
But their La Masia youth system has stopped producing the same level of talent and their summer signings have failed to spark. Andre Gomes is a hugely talented player, but he is yet to show it with consistency at his new club.
__________________________________
Read more
■ In pictures: Messi rescues a draw against Vilarreal
■ Africa Cup of Nations: Group-by-group guide and predictions
■ Team of the Week: Wayne Rooney equals United record
__________________________________
There is uncertainty over the future of manager Luis Enrique, 46, as well. Having won the treble in his first season and the double in his second, the Asturian has nothing to prove. He has a better win percentage than Pep Guardiola and, like Guardiola, he is holding off signing a new contract until he is ready. Or maybe he will decide to step down, confident in his own ability to get a job when he chooses, just as he was when he left AS Roma in 2012.
The Barca job continually saps at the energy even of former athletes who love their profession like Guardiola and Enrique. Former B team manager Eusebio, now thriving at Real Sociedad, has been mentioned as a potential replacement, as have Mauricio Pochettino and Ronald Koeman.
If Barca continue to drop points — and they have won only five of their last 11 matches — they will say goodbye to a third successive title. That is normal; no club dominates forever. And as Enrique conceded at El Madrigal, renamed the Ceramic Stadium at the weekend in honour of the local industry which supports the town and keeps the club as one of the best funded in Spain under president Fernando Roig, “We need a new dynamic”.
Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Neymar are not at their best, Ivan Rakitic has become a curious recent omission, while several Barca players appear tetchy and irritable. They are apportioning blame when previously they would simply rise above any difficulties and win.
Gerard Pique is conspiratorial, sometimes with reason, like last week when his side were refused a penalty at Villarreal after Bruno Soriano handled the ball in his area. Or when they were refused a penalty against Athletic Bilbao in a Copa del Rey game, their first match of 2017, in which they lost 2-1 against a team who were reduced to nine men. The return leg is on Wednesday night at Camp Nou.
Barca will always be compared to Real Madrid, the yin and yang of world football, and at the weekend Madrid equalled the Catalans’ 39-match unbeaten record.
Barca were dominant at Villarreal and in San Mames, but they lost one of those games and drew the other. Five of their last six games have been goalless at half time.
A new dynamic is indeed needed, and, with less than half the season played, they still have plenty of time this season.
“Of course, there is still time to catch Real,” Enrique said, “although that will not just depend on us but also on them, and they are looking very strong at the moment.”
__________________________________
Sevilla continue to rise
Sevilla are second in Spain. They have fixed their one weakness: terrible away form. Jorge Sampaoli’s side hammered in-form Real Sociedad 4-0 away at the weekend, their fourth away win of the season.
They have only lost twice on the road, but the win at La Real, a club who had beaten Barcelona at home, was the most impressive.
Wissam Ben Yedder scored his first hat-trick for the club since joining from Toulouse in July for what already looks like a bargain €9 million (Dh34.9m) fee. He is the top scoring Frenchman (8) in the Primera Liga, with more goals than Antoine Griezmann, Kevin Gameiro and Karim Benzema.
Sevilla are flying, but have been before. They have a consistency and the quality to keep winning the Europa League and this remains a golden age for the club who failed to win a trophy between 1948-2006. But can they repeat Atletico Madrid’s success and win the title?
Sevilla have been Spanish champions once, in 1946, and came close in 2007 before fading to finish five points behind the big two. They are now in their best position since 2007 when they led the table until the final month.
To improve they have to stop being victims of their own success and hold onto their best players and managers for longer. Fernando Llorente, Ever Banega and Ciro Immobile, the three players who scored when they beat Real Madrid last season in one of the most thrilling games of the year, all left the club for England and Italy last summer.
Sevilla excel in the transfer market. They signed Llorente on a free transfer and sold him for €6m a year later because he was earning too much and had not scored enough goals. With last season’s top scorer Gamiero also departing for €30m and Immobile back in Italy, they were left with a shortage of strikers, but Ben Yedder is doing well. Sevilla, who face Leicester City in the Uefa Champions League last 16, are also looking to loan Stevan Jovetic from Inter Milan, with an option to buy for €14m.
Sevilla’s next two games are both against Real Madrid in the Sanchez Pizjuan. Thursday is a Copa del Rey match, where they have to come from 3-0 down to win. That is unlikely, especially as Madrid will be looking to break Barcelona’s 39-game unbeaten streak.
Sunday is a league match. Win that — as they did in a thrilling 3-2 game last season — and they will be just a point behind Zinedine Zidane’s side. There is, of course, just the small issue of Real Madrid being the best team in the world right now.
Game of the week
■ Sevilla v Real Madrid on Sunday evening is the standout, while Barcelona must beat Las Palmas at home on Saturday to stay in touch at the top. Granada v Osasuna sees the bottom two meet.
Player of the week
■ Wissam Ben Yedder had his best game so far for Sevilla, scoring his first hat-trick to give him 15 goals in all competitions this season. Iago Aspas was Celta Vigo's man of the match – again, while Casemiro was Real Madrid's best player in their 5-0 win over Granada.
What else?
■ Valencia's sporting director, Jesus Garcia Pitarch, resigned. They drew 3-3 at bottom-of-the-table Osasuna on Monday, a result which gave some encouragement but keeps Valenciam in a precarious position.
■ Girona beat Real Zaragoza 2-0 away to confirm their quality as genuine promotion candidates. They have been boosted by the arrival of two on-loan players from Manchester City, Pablo Maffeo and Angelino. Maffeo was one of City's best performers in their League Cup defeat to neighbours Manchester United in October.
■ Antoine Griezmann scored his first goal since October as Atletico beat Eibar 2-0 away to move back into the top four. Eibar are finding points hard to come by, but to be 10th is an incredible achievement. The league's smallest club are trying hard to avoid their usual second-half slump.
■ Dani Ceballos is the standout young player at Real Betis. The Spain Under 21 midfielder is not quick and he was overlooked by previous manager Gus Poyet, but boasts superb vision and was the best player in Betis' 2-0 win against Leganes.
Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE
Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/TheNationalSport