Sent straight back to South America
As Barcelona took to the field at Camp Nou last night to take on Inter Milan, there was a sense of uncertainty of how they would fare without Lionel Messi. Their talisman had broken his arm while playing against Sevilla at the weekend, ruling himself out of the Inter clash as well as the the upcoming Clásico on Sunday.
But those concerns were quickly put to bed, when Rafinha put the La Liga champions ahead just after half an hour, getting on the end of Luis Suarez's pin-point cross. It turns out there is creativity in this team beyond Messi, coming from the likes of Philippe Coutinho, Ivan Rakitić and most importantly: Sergio Busquets.
While the team has evolved around him, with Xavi and Andres Iniesta moving on, Busquets has remained a constant, becoming Barça's second most important player. His spacial awareness, ability to spot - and play - a line breaking pass and his tackling ability make this gangly defensive rock the best in the world at what he does.
And he was on top form on Wednesday night, best show by one spectacular piece of skill that sent two Inter players back to their respective homes in one second.
Barça were cruising, 83 minutes gone, 2-0 up, easy peasy. They've been here a thousand times and know exactly how to close a game out. Busquets receives the ball in the air, as two Inter players charge towards him in an attempt to win it high up the pitch and launch an attack. If it were anyone else, you'd worry that they would be able to do so, but with Busquets, panicking is never an option.
He controls the ball on his chest, before flicking the ball back over the head of an onrushing opponent. How does he even know he's there?
Then as Lautaro Martínez tries to poke the ball away, Busquets is one step ahead. He always is. Using the bounce of the ball, he lifts the ball over the Inter man, before cushioning it down and playing it into space.
"What were you all worried about? Tranquilo," he says. Probably.
https://twitter.com/btsportfootball/status/1055353513902030849
