Heir to the throne: How Denis Suarez proved he can be Iniesta's long-term replacement

Posted Monday, November 07, 2016 by squawka.com

On a November night in Andalusia, Barcelona beat Sevilla 2-1 in an absolutely thrilling contest where they came from behind off the back of three great individual displays.

Lionel Messi stole the show with a goal, an assist and a magnificent Man of the Match display while wearing the captain's armband. At the back, Javier Mascherano rebounded from a shaky first half with a colossal Puyol-esque display.

However the most intriguing of Barca's big three was Suárez. Not Luis Suárez, mind you. He scored the winner and was much improved in the second half after a diabolical first. But no, it was Denis Suárez (no relation) who really deserves praise for his performance.

Barcelona headed to the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán under a great deal of pressure, having lost midweek to Manchester City in the Champions League and, following Real Madrid's win earlier in the day, found themselves five points off the top of the table. Sevilla themselves were in sensational form, having not lost since the league campaign began and came in possessing a 100% home record. Six wins from six.

The last time they lost at home was when Barcelona visited in the Spanish Super Cup, and it was the Blaugrana who downed them again. But things began with a different rhythm; Sevilla were all over Bar?a and took the lead after 15 minutes through Vitolo.

Barcelona were struggling. They could barely string two or three passes together, none of the players seemed to have any belief. In situations like this they usually turn to two men: Lionel Messi and Andrés Iniesta. Well, Messi was present and doing his best, but Iniesta was out injured.

At 32, Iniesta is finally starting to slow down. Barca's ever-reliable big game performer, he provides an elegance in midfield that they sorely miss when he's absent. It's not just his passes, though they're important, but it's his defensive work and ability to carry the ball that standout most. Without him around, Barcelona's midfield can be too static, lacking in penetrative dribbling.

Sure M-S-N can dribble for fun, but as forwards they're often very tightly marked. Iniesta is a midfielder, so can find space with greater ease, and thus is often the trigger that turns good performances into great ones. Conversely when he doesn't play, it's very obvious. In the loss to City, André Gomes played well but without that sense of dribbling he never really hurt the Sky Blues.

Denis Suárez tonight however was an entirely different proposition. He spread the ball around comfortably (88% pass completion), much as Gomes had done at the Etihad. He helped win it back (3/6 tackles won and four interceptions) as well. But it was his dribbling where he really matched up. He looked every bit a younger, taller Iniesta.

He attempted five take-ons and completed three of them. Most interestingly, the completions were in the middle of the park and, one dribble in particular was especially wonderful as he wriggled away from Mariano and Samir Nasri before releasing Messi (who messed up the chance).

Only namesake Luis Suárez, winger Vitolo and the impossibly gifted Neymar and Messi completed more take-ons than Denis Suárez today, and of that quartet only Neymar completed more than four (he had seven). Denis' comfort and ease on the ball was critical, much in the way Iniesta's always is.

As an experienced player, a veteran of four Champions League finals, two European Championships and a World Cup (all won), Iniesta always knows when to dribble and when not to. Now Suárez is 10 years Iniesta's junior, so doesn't always get it right, but his display tonight confirmed that his excellent pre-season form was no fluke, and that he wasn't so deluded to intimate he could replace Iniesta in the long-term back when he re-signed for Bar?a.

"Everyone wants to be [Iniesta's] replacement. He and I play in a similar position and hopefully one day I can accomplish what he has," Suárez said back in July. It seemed like enormous hubris for him to even countenance the concept, but confidence is contagious and commendable and shouldn't be struck down; it should be encouraged.

"There were options of other teams but I always said my desire was to play for Bar?a," he added. "I'm here, where I've always wanted to be. My number? It's not a priority, but Xavi's No. 6 would be nice."

Well, he got the No.6, now it's up to him to show that he can replace Barcelona's legendary No.8. Iniesta is magnificent but his decline, if only in physical terms, is obvious and real. So someone has to step up, to emerge as his heir, and Denis Suárez's sublime performance against Sevilla was the perfect start.