La Liga: Valencia CF 1-1 FC Barcelona: Player Ratings

Following his decision to leave the club in 2014, it’s safe to say that Valdés isn’t the most popular member of the Barcelona squad – at least with Culés – but he deserves a lot of credit for his performance against Valencia. He didn’t just make one big save to save the Blaugrana from defeat; Valdés came up with four huge stops to single-handedly secure the draw – including a jaw-dropping double save in the dying moments of the match.

Maybe it was just me, but Dani Alves appeared to have a quiet game at right-back; although the stats tell a different story. Alves created the second-most chances (behind Xavi), blocked the most shots and also drew a couple of fouls – not a bad day’s work for the Brazilian. However, his passing percentage was unbelievably low and his inaccuracy with the ball was undoubtedly a factor in Barça’s sloppy offensive play.

A mediocre showing from Piqué who looked comfortable on the ball, but struggled at times to keep his focus in the face of constant Valencia pressure. So, while he did make a few good interceptions, his lethargic play could have cost Barcelona a point. Thankfully Valdés came to rescue with a tremendous double save, although Piqué will be disappointed that he didn’t contribute more.

Mascherano played 55 minutes before being hauled off for Carles Puyol, and given his performance, it was probably for the best. Booked for a cynical foul on Roberto Soldado, Mascherano also failed to win a single aerial duel in his time on the field – a clear weakness that Tito needs to address in the summer.

As expected, Alba was his usual industrious self on the left-hand side of defense and he was simply too good for the inexperienced Juan Bernat. With five tackles and seven interceptions, Alba was easily our most "productive" defender; although I was a little disappointed with his offensive contribution.

Showing little sign of fatigue following Wednesday’s Clasico, Busquets put in another solid all-round performance in midfield on Sunday night. That being said, Busquets wasn’t quite at his best and ultimately his hard work wasn’t enough as Barcelona frequently wasted possession in the final third.

Yet another composed showing for Xavi, who was one of the only creative influences in yesterday’s Barcelona team. With Lionel Messi all but anonymous, Xavi attempted to pick up the slack although no-one could capitalise on the few chances he created. Will Barça be able to cope in his absence?

Cesc Fàbregas didn’t have the best of nights against a stubborn Valencia defense, although one has to wonder whether Fàbregas would benefit from an "orthodox" 4-3-3. With Iniesta on the left-wing, the onus is on Fàbregas to finish chances, when really he thrives in creating them instead.

Pedro won the penalty that earned Barcelona a valuable point, and Pedro was the only Barça player to register a shot on target in open play, yet he was rated over a point lower than Lionel Messi? Surely I’m not the only one to find that a little odd? Anyway, Pedro’s contribution at the offensive end arguably eclipsed that of any other Barcelona player, and with four tackles to his name, Pedro did more than his fair share of defensive work too. All in all, I think we saw a good performance from Pedro last night.

Thanks to his well-taken penalty, Messi has now scored in each of his last twelve La Liga games – although this will not go done in the record books as one of his better matches. For the most part, Messi was frustrated by the Valencia defense, and when he did find space for a shot he failed to hit the target. It’s nothing to worry about though – even the best player in the world will have an off-day every once in a while.

Iniesta’s close control is always a joy to watch, but it would have been nice to see an end product from the Spaniard. In his defense, Andrés did have to put up with some rough treatment from the Valencia midfield; and given the number of tackles he faced, Iniesta was always going to find it tough to create chances for a lacklustre Blaugrana attack.

Puyol replaced Mascherano with a little over half-an-hour left to play, and instantly made an impact with his infectious work-rate. He fought for every loose ball, and never gave up on any 50-50 challenge; basically it was a typical day at the office for Puyi.

With a nine point lead over Atletico Madrid, the team can afford to drop a few points here and there, but that doesn't mean we should accept performances like this. Not to say that we should have crushed Valencia; but we should have at least put in a little more effort. If that meant starting a few fringe players, then so be it.

Naturally, Roura has come in for criticism for not rotating the squad, and he probably came in for criticism for his substitutes as well. I think he did an adequate job in the game, and lest we forget that Tito probably picked the team. In that sense his treatment is perhaps affecting the team; after all, it must be difficult to judge which players are fatigued from New York.

Thanks to his double-save in the final moments of the game, Valdes picked up a well-deserved MoTM award, amassing 46% of the community vote.