Florentino Pérez indeed always finds a way! It's why he continues to have a slight majority of support amongst the Real Madrid 'socios'.
André Gomes... Yesterday has to have been his worst performance for Barcelona and that takes some doing. He was a total ghost in the game and it was like playing with 10 men most of the time. He had two interventions of note, one was a magnificent pass from Messi in the first half for André to score and for some reason André Gomes let it run too far past his body which gave time for the defender to rectify his initial mistake and clear easily. The other intervention was a cross toward the end of the first half. Apart from that he was missing in action the whole game until he was substituted.
The truth is that hardly none of the players played well yesterday and it was a very physical game. I don't know if the players had Juventus on their mind or not but that was a poor performance. Neymar who has been the best player for months overall made countless mistakes by cutting in when he should've hugged the line or staying close to the line when he should've looked inside. Messi came deeper and deeper into midfield but that was actually due to the fact Barça were being dominated in midfield where key moments were in question because Barcelona had all the possession of the ball (Málaga let them have it) without being penetrative with it.
Luis Enrique has rotated too much this season and what that achieves is that the players don't get to associate properly and don't bed into accomplishing form. Iniesta is the best example of this and even though Iniesta has to be given rest more than ever these days, Luis Enrique has taken that too far because in midfield and especially the way Iniesta plays the game, he needs to play more. It's coming toward the end of the campaign and Iniesta should be playing all of them now, or at least most of them from the start. But Luis Enrique is so scared of losing him due to an injury that he has him wrapped in cotton wool practically all of the time.
Rafinha out for the season now (he's had various injuries this year) hasn't helped matters either because he does fit into the system and is the perfect player to rotate with. He has hurt Luis Enrique's rotation capabilities in terms of effective quality when applied. Arda Turan's constant calf strains have also been a nightmare for the coach because he started the season so well and looked to have regained the form he was signed for at Atlético Madrid. So there are reasons for the thinness of the options because even though there are multiple players to choose from, the real quality has worn thin.
What I don't understand at all is the rotation of Ivan Rakitić... The Croatian would've put that André Gomes chance from a Messi pass away with his eyes closed. That's one of his main fortes. Not only is he one of the best second line attack minded midfielders in Europe, but he is also more than just competent in the destruction of the rival's game. In other words, a must in any top midfield anywhere in the world. Obviously it was away to Málaga and Luis Enrique decided once again to rest the all terrain midfielder due to how much the player wastes himself physically in games. The thing is that Rakitić isn't Andrés Iniesta's age and he can take it twice a week! It was the biggest error yesterday because he should've been playing instead of André Gomes.
If André Gomes ends up leaving Barça in the end, he won't be able to ever say that he wasn't given a chance. Luis Enrique has definitely given him that. He has played as many minutes as any midfielder this season. He's had the coach's faith and confidence which is paramount for a player to eventually show form. But that hasn't ever looked like arriving. Infact I'd say André Gomes' problems started when he was dropped from the Portugal side that won the European Championship in France last summer. That was his downfall and no longer has that form and game he had at Valencia been seen again. He needs to go to a club where he will be the protagonist once again and not just another player. Only then do I see him returning to what he was which was one of my favourite players anywhere at one point and the reason I was so happy when Barcelona signed him.