Messi hasn't won shit without XavIniesta

Messi hasn't won shit without Xavi/Iniesta/Busquets/Alba/Pique

O TWAIN

The other way around

Those guys won the WC without Messi kek

they only won after the dutch got red carded

People don't understand Valverde's genius.

Valverde inherited a team full of soft-ass pussies. They had been soft-ass pussies for years and years. Valverde recognized this and, over the last two years, slowly transformed Barcelona into the band of hardasses who successfully absorbed long, furious stretches of pressure from Man U and Liverpool without conceding.

Valverde the Pragmatist recognized that his team of little diving sissy boys had no plan B, so he taught them to play some defense and fight and hustle like men. Sure, their defense isn't exactly like the glory years of AC Milan, but it's also a far cry from the hapless, flaccid Barcelona defenses of recent years past.

Signing Vidal helped. He was the perfect man for the game against Liverpool. Led the team in successful tackles, interceptions and duels won. He played the Rakitic role better than Rakitic; hustled his fucking ass off.

Valverde the Pragmatist's Barcelona is unlikely to lose this one. They appear much more resilient than they were a year ago. They "win despite looking like shit" because they don't look like the pure aesthetic marvel that was Pep's Barcelona. That style is a relic of the past and has been figured out by defenses. Defenses figuring it out necessitated a plan B. Enter the unappreciated genius, Valverde the Pragmatist. Barcelona has a plan B now: play like men for the most part while occasionally reverting back to little sissy boys who roll 5-6 times every time they're fouled. Yes, Rat King, I'm looking at you.

Lenglet has been an unexpected revelation, too. His signing was largely uncelebrated but his form has been absolutely massive. Sure, Barcelona is a little slow at the back with him and Pique, but Alba seems to somehow save their ass with recovery speed more often than not anyways despite starting out way the fuck up the pitch.

he was salah's bitch though

>Salah got off one long range shot and one hilariously missed sitter that simply rebounded directly to him, fortuitously
>he was Salah's bitch
These two things are mutually exclusive.

You really didn't watch the game, salah kept going past him the whole match without much difficulty