Gerard Deulofeu might not have the fame of Philippe Coutinho or of Ousmane Dembélé, but he has everything in his favour to be the great beneficiary in the departure of Neymar Jr. The Catalan winger used the Joan Gamper Trophy to stake his claim in a season that could serve to confirm all the qualities that have been predicted for him at Barça's 'Masia' (5-0).
Ernesto Valverde will have many doubts about choosing his starting eleven for the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup against Real Madrid. Deulofeu has shown that he is fully capable of taking on the challenge of being on the left wing. And the fluid relationship with Leo Messi and Luis Suárez can go from being significant to decisive. The striker has improved his defensive attitude, his Achilles' heel, a great deal. With Deulofeu involved, it will help to blur the shadow of Neymar.
The result is secondary
The gesture of Barça inviting the Chapecoense and collaborating financially to their institutional reconstruction has been worthy of praise. The three players from ‘Chape’ who survived the plane crash last November, Jackson Follmann, Helio Neto and Alan Ruschel, received an ovation from the 64,705 crowd, mostly foreigners, who had come to Camp Nou. The three men, in addition, did a lap of honour to close a very emotional preamble to the match. Ruschel, captain of the Brazilians, returned to play again after a tough recuperation.
The opening minutes showed the difference between both teams. And from the outset, it was clear that the result would be the least important factor of this Joan Gamper Trophy. Leo Messi, once again, will be the epicentre of the team. Barça president, Josep Maria Bartomeu, has exhausted his praises of the number ‘10’ and knows that his own future depends, to a large extent, on the degree of success of the Argentine.
Deulofeu opened the scoring in the 6th minute, pushing in a pass from Ivan Rakitic. Five minutes later, Sergio Busquets scored with a shot from twenty metres to make it 2-0. Barça had to take the foot of the accelerator to avoid converting the tribute match into a slaughter. The Chapecoense had no arguments to cross the field with the ball under controll, and Ter Stegen became just another spectator.
Leo Messi found the goal after a combination with Deulofeu, who has shown he has matured after his 'Erasmus' at Everton, Seville and Milan. Messi, with spark, is once again one of the greatest arguments for Barça to finish the season with a title. Arda Turan and Douglas Pereira were the only two players who did not get a run out. An unequivocal message: they will have to search for another club before 31st August.
With Madrid on the horizon
Valverde faced the Gamper as a test for Sunday's Classic. With very few changes, and even less rotations, Barça accumulated a good number of minutes for their title eleven. In the second half, Luis Suárez, very active but not very successful, finally found goal with the help of his friend, Messi. And Denis also used the altruism of the number ‘10’ to close the win.
Barça will now have six days to rest and to study a Madrid that will play Manchester United this Tuesday in the UEFA Super Cup Final. The new Barça coach already witnessed in Miami that nothing compares to the rivalry between the two clubs. In addition, the differences are accentuated by a title in the middle.