During the week, the Blaugrana side faced off against Valencia in the second leg of the Copa Del Rey semifinal. The game saw Barcelona's second most expensive transfer, Philippe Coutinho, score his first goal for the club. Costing the club over $192 million, it was alleviating for Coutinho to show his worth. Coutinho was criticized by the media as his previous four performances lacked the same ingenuity that he maintained at his former club, Liverpool.
With the result, Barcelona progress to the Copa final with an aggregate score of three to zero, giving them the inspiring opportunity to earn a double this season. The final is set to be played on April 21, when Barcelona will compete against Sevilla.
Barcelona unbeaten in 23 games
On match day 23-of-38, Barcelona hosted mid-table Getafe at the Camp Nou. Barcelona's coach, Ernesto Valverde, arranged a makeshift defensive back line that featured the typical fullback pairing of Roberto and Alba, but a center back combination of young Yerry Mina and Lucas Digne. Mina participated in his first Barcelona game and Digne was a surprising choice at center back as his proffered position is typically left back.
Nevertheless, the Catalonian giants played in exemplary fashion. According to ESPN, Messi and company imposed themselves on Getafe by holding 79 percent possession. Although the game resulted in a scoreless draw, Barcelona tested their opponents with 12 total shots, six of them being placed on target. With the result, Barcelona preserves their impressive unbeaten run in La Liga this season.
Team Messi versus Team Ronaldo
In a generation that compares every aspect of Messi's performance to Cristiano Ronaldo's every operation on the pitch, we examine who outplayed their counterpart this week. Ronaldo and his Madrid teammates prevailed grandiosely over Real Sociedad with a five to two scoreline. Not only does this game boost Los Blancos to third place on the La Liga table, but it boosts the team's morale right before a very important Champions League fixture.
Cristiano Ronaldo contributed with his first hat-trick of the season. Ronaldo now has 11 goals in the domestic league. Regardless of the fact that Messi didn't contribute directly with goals and assists in the two games he played a part in this week, his team still sits first on the table and gets a chance at glory in the Copa final. Which outcome holds more value? Radical bias fans will support their team and club favorites.