BarcelonaBarça beat Dinamo Kiev and regained the lead in the Champions League with three balsamic points scored thanks to a goal from Gerard Piqué. Then the hot notes of the match.
Saving results, for now. Second victory in two Barça matches and scared ghosts in the Champions League. Okay: the wins have given oxygen to Koeman before Sunday’s classic. But … what about the game? Has the team improved enough for President Laporta to keep Damocles’ sword for good no matter what happens against Madrid? Do you convince the 4-3-3 with double side that without the ball becomes a 5-3-2? Is it presentable that Barça end up asking for the time at home against a team without any serious threat in attack? It will be necessary to judge game by game, as is done from the box.
Always ready to hang the medal. The team’s most veteran sacred cow has saved the record in the appointment, on paper, the most affordable of the group stage. Piqué, who in Lisbon and Wanda Metropolitano came out in the picture of two painful defeats, has solved the ballot with a goal from killer. Very important contribution so as not to complicate matters further in Europe. A gesture that reinforces his role as a fan idol, who already applauded him when his salary was lowered than any other teammate, but that will not make him less vulnerable against better strikers than the dreaded Supriaha.
Cartoon danger. Piqué scored the goal that Luuk de Jong, the starter for the third consecutive match in the Champions League, had previously missed in a double game. The Dutchman has been Koeman’s solution to make up for Ansu Fati’s necessary substitution. And the truth, beyond that it is even looser than Braithwaite, is that it has no luck. He was taken from Sevilla due to his status as an area striker and, at least against Dinamo, he has been able to create opportunities. It would be interesting for him to be able to score some. If not, he will be the typical player who will end up becoming a cartoon.
Squeezed young people. Koeman is praised for his audacity with Gavi, who has five titles in six games, just as he was taken away last season to make Pedri undisputed. At the same time, however, it is fair to remember that Yusuf Demir accumulates four consecutive duels without minutes. Has disappeared. And that was the sensation of the pre-season and even earned a place at eleven in his debut in the League with Real Sociedad and against Bayern in the Champions League. The commitment to young people should not be about squeezing them and then making them disappear. Demir does not deserve this sad formative favor.
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