I saw an interesting moment near the end of the game. Where we got a corner kick, and Cesc was running to go take it. You can tell he wanted to take the initiative and just take it quick... he was close to kicking it... but Xavi came over and took it for him. IT was kind of an awkward exchange. I think it shows the general dynamic of the team there. Xavi is the boss, and the order should be maintained.
But in a situation like this, I would have much rather had Cesc just take it and keep the game flowing. He's just as perfectly capable as Xavi is, and sometimes even more so, such as times like tonight where Xavi is playing sub-par. In that moment, Cesc seemed more in the game than xavi, and plus waiting for Xavi slowed the game down even more at a time when we needed to be moving urgently.
Cesc was looking very good when he came on. In one play he would go from starting in DM position to being right in the box for a cross a few seconds later. He's very dynamic... and always looking to attack. Very valuable to us, especially since Xavi and Iniesta seem to not really care about making through balls/attacking passes these days.
Hope he starts starting more CL games... and continues starting Liga games to stay on his roll and keep building momentum on his form.