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Xavi Hernández has achieved what seemed impossible. Beyond the result, he managed to recover the pride of the culé and has only needed ninety minutes for it, although a concatenation of small details on the day of the ex-midfielder’s debut already foreshadowed a notable change in Barcelona. To begin with, all players they arrived at the stadium together yesterday, by coach, two years after the last time. Xavi wants to foster a good relationship in the squad and if during the day to day he has imposed that everyone have breakfast and lunch together, he has also decided on a small concentration on the day of the game, ruling out that each player would arrive on their own at the Camp Nou.
The heating also presented changes, in terms of design and intensity.
It was already possible to see in the run-up to how the team was going to play, but, without a doubt, the most anticipated moment was the announcement of its first line-up. The ownership of Illias Akhomach surprised, a 17-year-old winger who made his debut with the first team. Not so much his staging, playing in the opposite field, with high pressure, quick recovery after loss, possession of the ball, fast circulation and wide ends. And above all his commitment to the Masía, with eight footballers in the starting team formed in the lower categories.
The expectation in the avid Barça fans was maximum. As much as for what 74,418 followers (the second best entry of the entire season, after the classic) went to the Camp Nou to witness this new era in person. Xavi showed his personality by leaving footballers like Coutinho or Riqui Puig, which seemed like they were going to have much more prominence than they had enjoyed so far with Ronald Koeman. The case of the Brazilian is worrying and the first decisions of the new coach clearly indicate the exit door, something that the club celebrates due to the high cost of having him on the payroll and his inversely proportional performance.
Little effectiveness
In spite of everything, there are aspects that do not change and against which Xavi practically cannot do anything. It is the lack of punch which the team suffers from, its low effectiveness and the need for a solvent striker. It was proven throughout the game, especially in the first half, in which absolute dominance did not translate into a goal. And the first goal of the new stage inaugurated by Xavi came from a penalty after a controversial action against Memphis Depay that the player himself transformed.
Return of Ansu Fati and Dembélé could solve this problem, although the barcelonismo received bad news yesterday when it transcended from the surroundings close to the Barcelona club that Kun Agüero could have decided to end his sports career because of the heart problems that forced him to withdraw from the game against him Alavés already undergo different medical studies that confirmed an arrhythmia.
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