Signs of hope and despair in Yerry Mina's return to the team against Celta

Signs of hope and despair in Yerry Mina's return to the team against Celta

El decisivo corte de Yerry Mina / | LALIGA

The Colombian displayed his character and physical power in Balaidos but lost concentration for both goals

“He proved Valverde right,” said Colombian newspaper ‘El Deportivo’ in a scathing assessment of the player’s return to the Barca starting 11 against Celta Vigo on Tuesday, almost two months after his last league game against Getafe at Camp Nou, which finished 0-0

Perhaps they were too harsh on the player, although it's evident that the defender had a mixed performance in Balaidos.

It was a difficult game to come back into the starting 11, due to the quality of the opponents and because Ernesto Valverde decided to only pick two regular starters (Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Philippe Coutinho). This did not scare Mina, who demonstrated that in spite of his youth he has the character to play at a huge club like Barca.

Mina was paired with Thomas Vermaelen, an experienced centreback who is tactically excellent, and who helped the Colombian show the same relaxed tone he usually displays off  the pitch, even when he was under pressure.

PHYSICAL POWER

Yerry demonstrated his strength in one on one battles and his capacity to dominate aerial play although he did not always win his duels.

Yerry also did not hide when it came to bringing the ball out from the back, although neither he nor Vermaelen got enough support from the midfield until Lionel Messi and Sergi Roberto came on.

However, there were certain moments which overshadowed his positves. Above all, in the two goals, when Jonny and Aspas mugged him off.

ASPAS AND THE TWO GOALS

The two plays were similar, both taking place in the six yard box. Iago Aspas span around and disorientated Mina, leaving the space for Jonny to run into and attack the near post to meet Maxi Gomez's cross to make it 1-1.

Histroy repeated itself for Celta's second leveller, when Aspas made the same movement to have his back to Mina and after getting past the defender he bundled the ball past Ter Stegen, Barca's hero of the night. Mina was also very attentive when it came to helping Nelson Semedo when Celta attacked down the left flank the Portuguese was guarding, but later he struggled to recover his position when he needed to run back.

Right now Ernesto Valverde sees Yerry Mina as his fourth choice centre back and without a doubt the Colombian needs to work hard to gain the confidence of the Barca coach. Perhaps next season, with a pre-season under his belt, the Colombian can convince Valverde.

Topics with the letter