BARCELONA, Spain, Dec 24, (AP): With Lionel Messi wowing fans game after game, it’s easy to overlook Jordi Alba, the player who often puts him in position to score so many impressive goals.
Alba has become the indispensable sidekick for
Barcelona’s all-time leading scorer.
“Leo and Jordi understand one another
perfectly,” coach Ernesto Valverde said after Saturday’s 2-0 win over Celta
Vigo when Alba helped set up both of Barcelona’s goals.
Alba first passed for Messi to shoot, with a
rebound of a save falling to Ousmane Dembele to finish off. Alba then assisted
Messi for his league-leading 15th goal of the season.
“Their relationship clicks,” Valverde said.
“Sometimes rivals try to block their passing angles, but Jordi has a great
sense of timing. And even though adversaries know it’s coming, it continues to
work.” Alba has been running up and down Barcelona’s left flank for seven
seasons now, but his importance to his team’s attack used to be secondary to
the sparkling play of former stars Neymar, Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez.
Neymar’s exit two summers ago marked a turning
point for Alba. With the Brazil forward no longer soaking up all the weight of
the attack on Barcelona’s left side, Alba was free to fully exploit his speed
and passing ability.
As Alba told Spanish sports daily Sport in 2017,
“now I have the entire left side to myself, and that is much better.” Messi
often starts his attacks from the right or center of the field to have his
preferred left boot set to shoot. That leaves Alba in an ideal position to
stretch the defense with carefully timed bursts of speed to break into the area
behind the opposition’s backline, often after exchanging passes with Messi.
The 29-year-old Alba has developed the knack of
knowing where Messi will dart to in the box, often behind a dummy run by Luis
Suarez, where he can receive Alba’s passes in a scoring position.
“They are very quick moves against defenses that
really close down the open spaces,” Alba said after Saturday’s strong
performance. “But Messi always waits for the opportune moment to find space,
and I connect with him.” Alba has done his part in ensuring Barcelona went into
the Spanish league’s winter break with a three-point lead atop the standings.
“Most of the passes that I give Messi end up in
goal,” Alba said. “Leo never misses.” Second-placed Atletico Madrid head toward
the winter transfer window with big questions about two of thier top young
players: France defender Lucas Hernandez and midfielder Thomas Partey.
Hernandez has been linked to interest by Bayern
Munich in triggering the 80 million euro ($91 million) buyout clause that would
free him from his contract.
While Atletico have denied that Hernandez wants
to leave, coach Diego Simeone appears to accept that he could lose the
22-year-old defender.
“Lucas knows what I told him. I love him a lot,
we have watched him grow up,” Simeone said after Saturday’s 1-0 victory over
Espanyol. “Let him decide what he thinks is best and I will support him.”
Thomas, who can play either as a holding midfielder or further up in the
formation, has also made it publicly known that he wants to play more.
“I have a deep affection for Atletico and I am
grateful for all that it has done, as well as for the fans, but sometimes I
feel unhappy at Atletico,” Thomas said Saturday.
Ignored by previous managers, 23-year-old Marcos
Llorente is playing well enough to threaten Casemiro’s spot in the starting 11
as Real Madrid’s holding midfielder.
Llorente has started nine matches since Santiago
Solari took over from the fired Julen Lopetegui two months ago, benefiting from
Casemiro twisting an ankle.
Llorente scored his first goal for Madrid on
Saturday when he struck a powerful shot from outside the area to help beat Al
Ain 4-1 in Abu Dhabi. Madrid won its third straight Club World Cup.
“Life, like football, can change just like
that,” Llorente said.