Short-term politics also has its advantages in the intangible universe of Barça, because every victory is celebrated with enthusiasm, just like when a lever is pulled, a personal endorsement is pulled out of the hat or a signing is presented, even if it is unique and takes a long time to be registered in La Liga. The club has still not been able to field Dani Olmo after thanking Gündogan for the services rendered and pining for Nico Williams. The Spanish international striker is still at Athletic, as was seen in Montjuïc, as certain as the fact that Barcelona have won both of their league games after declaring victory last Saturday at Mestalla.
2
Marc-André ter Stegen, Pau Cubarsí, Jules Koundé, Alejandro Balde (Gerard Martín, min. 90), Iñigo Martínez, Raphinha, Marc Bernal (Eric García, min. 82), Ferran Torres (Fermín López, min. 62), Pedri, Lamine Yamal (Pau Víctor, min. 90) and Robert Lewandowski
1
Álex Padilla, Yeray Álvarez, Dani Vivian, Yuri Berchiche, Íñigo Lekue, Mikel Vesga (Mikel Jauregizar, min. 62), Oihan Sancet (Unai Gómez, min. 62), Beñat Prados (Ander Herrera, min. 77), Nico Williams , Alex Berenguer (Adu Ares, min. 71) and Iñaki Williams (Gorka Guruzeta, min. 77)
Goals
1-0 min. 23: Lamine Yamal. 1-1 min. 41: O. Sancet. 2-1 min. 74: Lewandowski
Referee Jesus Gil Manzano
Yeray (min. 37), Pau Cubarsí (min. 40), Marc Bernal (min. 48), Berenguer (min. 55), Lewandowski (min. 84), Lekue (min. 86), Ander Herrera (min. 95 ), Fermín López (min. 95), Mikel Jauregizar (min. 95)
The six points are a truth worth celebrating at a time of many lies if one looks at the modus vivendi of a club whose goal is to buy time to reach its 125th anniversary and return to the new Camp Nou. The feeling of apocalypse is so widespread that for some it may even be surprising that Barça opens the stadium normally, calls out a decent line-up each matchday and also beat Athletic. The reality is that the team played a very good match, fortunately for the club and a fan base that has increased the number of season ticket holders to 22,746. It is better to count members and goals each matchday when there is no money or cash, but mortgages that tie Barça down.
The victory against Athletic was indisputable in a match that took a while to wake up because the players were slipping around a lot, there was hardly any space to manoeuvre and possession and pressure took precedence over play, waiting for Nico and Lamine to appear. The imbalance of the two wingers was felt every time a pass was filtered through on a pitch as dense as the Montjuïc stands. The little Williams’s threads did not stop striking before and after the Barça striker’s goal. Lamine collected a rebound from Padilla after a free kick, controlled the ball with his left foot on the edge of the area and shot towards the right post of the Basque goalkeeper, surprised at the end by the header of Lekue, the last to validate the 1-0.
The goal did not change the script of a very even match, with both teams very close together, always on the lookout for any loss or a bad tackle, such as the one Cubarsí committed on Berenguer before the action continued and ended with Lewandowski being brought down. The VAR intervened, the referee went back to the start of the conflict and blew the penalty in favour of Athletic, which Sancet converted. The equaliser came as a surprise because Lewandowski had previously hit the post when the Blaugrana were running a lot and finishing most of the plays, more vertically due to Ferran’s runs and Raphinha’s football between the lines, better sharpened than Athletic.
Flick’s idea is becoming clearer as the internationals join in and the injured players of Pedri’s calibre recover. The Tenerife native came in for Marc Casadó. There was no further news regarding Mestalla. The midfielders have lost weight compared to the defenders and the forwards, even at the risk of the team being split in half by their direct football, a situation that the coach is trying to avoid with the physical display of some footballers who are put to great test on a daily basis on the training pitch by Julio Tous. The plan demands good legs and fresh players to keep up the pace, players who are unfailing and also with good aim, few at the moment like Lewandowski.
The striker continued with a header that hit the woodwork and a shot from point-blank range that was saved by a very brave Padilla. Lewandowski did not miss the third when he hooked the ball cleared by Padilla after a very good tackle by Raphinha and Pedri. The inside play of the Blaugrana was more decisive than Athletic’s attacks. The red-and-whites were exhausted and signed the defeat that has been the rule in the last 23 years of visits to Barcelona.
The changes helped the Blaugrana to control the match as they did in Valencia and to claim victory with the same protagonists from Mestalla: La Masia, Raphinha, Pedri and Lewandowski. The Pole is the final point of a more direct and energetic team, more German and also subtle due to the weight of the youth team, capable of supporting the club in the short term and of livening up Montjuïc. Nobody remembered Nico Williams.
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