How long can this go on for Andre Gomes. 

Barcelona visited Valencia for the second leg of a Copa del Rey semi-final which was in the balance... and Andre Gomes started. Once again. The Portuguese player was given yet another opportunity. I don't remember seeing anything else like this. It seemed that the continued presence of the midfielder was an obsession of Luis Enrique, but now Ernesto Valverde has arrived and it's more of the same.

We can open up the trashcan because his 45-minute performance at the Mestalla should be tossed in the garbage. And this trashcan, for a player who cost almost 50 million euros, is almost overflowing. If you are a Barcelona fan then you must ask yourself, when did Andre Gomes have a good game for Barcelona? As far as my memory can tell, his best day was in the Copa del Rey final against Alaves last year, when he played as a full-back because of Javier Mascherano's injury. That's his best experience after a season and a half.

His case is even more outrageous than is seems because he is a player with the qualities to have success. He can use both feet, he has a good shot, he boasts a powerful strike and change of rhythm and he can break through defensive lines with relative ease. No, I've not gone crazy. This is how Andre Gomes played in Valencia, as those at Mestalla will testify. On occasions, this was the Andre Gomes who played for Portugal.

Now, though, Gomes has passed through the period in which the excuse of needing to adapt can be given. In Thursday night's match at Mestalla there were some pieces of play in which even his teammates didn't seem to want to pass him the ball.

Over the four competitions his club has been involved in this season, Gomes has played almost 1,000 minutes, but does anyone remember a decent performance from the Portuguese? Patience has a limit and the patience of the fanbase appears to have run out. We'll see how long Valverde's patience lasts.