Barça captain Andrés Iniesta had his team humming against Real Madrid and has been tested by scientists who believe they can identify in-game intelligence
Less than a minute after replacing Ivan Rakitic during a strangely discordant el clásico, Andrés Iniesta had Barcelona humming sweeter harmonies again. His first act was to float to the centre, collect from Gerard Piqué and exchange a wall-pass with Lionel Messi – bam, bam, bam – which started a 31-pass move. His next was to set up Neymar for a chance he smashed over. Later he steered a glorious eye of the needle ball that Messi, with the match at his feet, screwed wide.
True, Madrid stole an equaliser at the death but with Iniesta back from injury as Barcelona’s conductor and collagen the team looked whole again. Of course his technical and physical talents remain worldy, even at 32, but it was his football intelligence – that ability to find space and time amid the crush and rush, the right pass, the right everything – that really stood out. No wonder the Belgium manager, Roberto Martínez, suggested afterwards that Iniesta had a “third eye”.
Related: Real Madrid and Sergio Ramos grab point at the last from Barcelona
Related: Here's a thought: how do footballers do what they do? | Gregg Bakowski
Continue reading...