Positive Signs as Barcelona Squad Players Get Their Act Together vs. Gladbach

CAMP NOU, Barcelona — It took a dead rubber, a game without pressure, for it to happen. But it happened, and the hope for Barcelona is the process is in motion.

With one notable exception, Barcelona’s squad players stepped up a gear and helped the team sweep past Borussia Monchengladbach 4-0 in the Champions League clash at Camp Nou.

The match was meaningless, with qualification for the Champions League round of 16 already assured as Group C winners, but Barcelona played with purpose as they started to get over the disappointment that the Clasico draw on Saturday left lingering.

Mundo Deportivo said in their Tuesday edition that the only reason the game was worthwhile was to find out if Lionel Messi was going to break another record.

He came into the game having scored nine goals in the group stage, with the target being Cristiano Ronaldo’s 11, scored in 2015-16.

When he opened the scoring after just 16 minutes, taking himself to 10 European strikes, the Camp Nou believed history beckoned.

It did not arrive, although he is now well placed to have a tilt at breaking another Cristiano tally—the 17 he scored in the 2013-14 campaign.

Furthermore, Messi has 93 goals in the competition, Ronaldo has 95. The race to 100 is on.

But even though Messi didn’t hit his target, Mundo were wrong. This game had other subplots to it beyond Messi’s stratospheric numbers.

Another was Andres Iniesta’s first start since he fell injured against Valencia on October 22.

The Manchegan midfielder came on in the Clasico and had an instant impact, and his presence here was key for Barcelona again. It is no surprise that they played such flowing football again with him back on the pitch.

Even though he was only on the pitch for 60 minutes, Iniesta completed 108 passes, the fifth highest in Europe on Tuesday night.

The top three were also Barcelona players, with Javier Mascherano top (126), Andre Gomes second (122) and Samuel Umtiti third (111), with Bayern Munich’s David Alaba fourth (109), per Squawka.

Most passes completed in the Champions League last nightJ. Mascherano (126)A. Gomes (122)S. Umtiti (111)D. Alaba (109)A. Iniesta (108) pic.twitter.com/D0gAI6uTt1

— Squawka Football (@Squawka) December 7, 2016

Iniesta is a special player and brings the patience and wisdom to Barcelona’s play that has been lacking over the previous six weeks during his absence.

His fine display also led indirectly to a classic Luis Enrique show of needless spite in his press conference after the game.

“Statistics in football …

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