Barcelona opened the defence of their UEFA Champions League crown with a 2-2 home draw against AC Milan in Group H.
Barcelona
Valdes - 6
He conceded at the start and at the end of the game. In between he had little to do.
Abidal - 7
Milan got almost no joy down the right hand flank, mainly because of the defensive work from Abidal.
Busquets - 5
He didn't look comfortable at all as a make-shift central defender. At times he held onto the ball far too long and stood like a statue for Milan's opening goal.
Mascherano - 5.5
Mascherano didn't cover himself with glory in a central defensive role against Milan. The Argentinean seemed unsure of what to do when balls were played over the top and straight down the middle.
Alves - 6.5
His quickness to cut out Milan's passing game was an asset for Barcelona in the opening moments when the Catalans were rocking following Pato's early strike. As time went on though, Barca imposed themselves on their opponents which allowed Alves to get forward more and more
Iniesta (Off 38') - 6.5
Iniesta has been ruled out for up to a month following an innocuous looking challenge in the 38th minute with Milan right-back Abate.
Keita (Off 67') - 7
He was preferred to Fabregas in the starting XI but found himself doing a lot more defending than he might have expected to. Pato was causing massive problems for Barcelona in the opening 15 minutes of the game which forced Guardiola to redeploy Keita into a more defensive midfield role.
Xavi - 7
Barcelona dominated possession as expected and this man was one of the key reasons why.
Messi - 7.5
Messi was full of determination and it paid off for Barcelona in their opening goal. Messi knocked the ball past Nesta and managed to beat the covering man Abate. His cut-back found Pedro who was left with the simplest of finishes to tie things up at 1-1.
Villa (Off 83') - 7.5
What a fantastic free-kick from Villa to give Barca the 2-1 lead against Milan. A right footed effort from 25-yards out which curled, dipped and beat the keeper.His technique is superb.
Pedro - 7
Other than the goal, Pedro won't have much to shout about after the match with Milan. He just didn't appear to be on the same wavelength with his team-mates tonight.
Subs:
Fabregas (On 38') - 6.5
It was his UEFA Champions League debut with Barcelona but he didn't do enough to influence proceedings to justify his place in the starting XI for the next game.
Puyol (On 67') - 6
His second half sub appearance must have been a sight for sore eyes for a Barcelona team which are leaking goals at the moment. The 2-2 draw with Milan follows a 2-2 draw with Real Sociedad at the weekend.
Afellay (On 83') - 6
Had a good chance to put Barca 3-1 ahead but he's clearly lacking match fitness and confidence.
AC Milan
Abbiati - 7
Made a string of good saves to keep Milan in with a chance at stealing a point but his time wasting tactics when the Rossoneri were 1-0 up in the first half was nothing short of annoying.
Zambrotta - 6.5
Made few mistakes although he found himself pinned back in his own half for practically the entire game.
Thiago Silva - 7.5
A bullet header in stoppage time from the Brazilian earned Milan a share of the points against Barcelona in Group H. He also showed plenty of defensive capabilities earlier in the match.
Nesta - 8
Nesta was absolutely brilliant for Milan. He made countless last ditch tackles and generally had a lot of success organising Milan's zonal marking strategy against Barcelona. He even got the better of Messi in a one-vs-one situation in the second half that left the Argentinean beating the ground in frustration, albeit with a smile on his face.
Abate - 5
He should have never Messi get past him for Barcelona's first goal - it wasn't the first time in the game he was caught ball watching.
Seedorf - 6.5
He may be approaching 40 years of age but as the saying goes: class is permanent. He displayed plenty of neat touches and flicks during the game and it was his corner that was headed home for Milan's dramatic equaliser.
Van Bommel (Off 77') - 6
The Dutchman was given the crucial role in front of the two Milan centre-backs and he did his best to protect them. Barca simply had too much of the ball and van Bommel was chasing shadows for much of the game.
Nocerino - 5.5
He never had any influence on the game.
Boateng (Off 34') - 6
Taken off injured.
Cassano (Off 61') - 6
Saw little of the ball but when he did get it he did a poor job holding up the play. Milan gave possession away far too cheaply which is something you never want to do against Barcelona. Cassano was one of the chief culprits of this.
Pato - 7
A super goal from Pato. Right from the opening whistle, he ran straight through the Barcelona defence before shooting under the goalkeeper to give Milan the lead after 25 seconds.
Subs:
Ambrosini (On 34') - 6
Did his best but the level of the game was beyond him.
Emanuelson (On 61') - 6
Came on as a left sided midfielder.
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