BarcelonaUnder the rain in Seville, Barça proved to be very clear about their final port and know how to get there. Facing a rival who wanted to prove to himself that he can win the League, Xavi’s team took a point of great value (1-1). More for the way you play than the result itself. Instead of thinking about avoiding defeat, pulling his hair out crying over the casualties, Barça faced a great rival despite coming out with a bunch of players who recently watched the First Division matches on television.
Sevilla’s draw was an invitation to dream. To analyze the good first half, getting acquainted with these young faces that symbolize a promising future. The idea is there. And Sevilla found out in the first half that they had no control over the game. If Xavi’s first matches on the bench were carried out by the coach with a bit of luck, Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán’s match served to show the world that the team is playing with an increasingly defined idea, a game concept. offensive, a worked system. A project under construction that only needs to have all the performers on stage. Especially someone who scores goals. The Terrassa native, however, does not tremble when he communicates the alignments. The gallons are earned in every workout, the title is for whoever deserves it most. Thus, he repeated almost the same team that had defeated Elche, with the return of Piqué to help get the ball clean. And in attack, repeating for the second game in a row, Ferran Jutglà, this striker with ferret eyes who is not afraid to shoot at goal every time the ball falls to his feet. Gavi and Abde were not scared either. On the contrary. And look, the challenge was great, against this Sevilla.
It was one of the most important matches of the season and Barça went out to play with a lot of guys who a few months ago were giving it their all in front of half-empty stands in Second B pitches. Under a deluge, Barça relegated Sevilla to a secondary role, imposing the rules of the match. As in the school yard, when the rules of the match were set by the boy carrying the ball, Barça took possession and made a Sevilla sweat that was played a lot. Winning meant closing the year just three points behind Real Madrid, the leader. And the whites still have to play Sánchez Pizjuán.
Barça, however, could not stay in romance, thinking about what their opponent was playing for. Every point lost right now complicates math even more, if you want to hear the Champions League anthem next season. Each match comes loaded with too much pressure for a club where it seems forbidden to fail. But instead of worrying, Barça understood the game better than Lopetegui’s team. All that was left was to have the spark to break the last Andalusian defensive line. Barça’s game was beautiful, but it didn’t bite. And on almost the first occasion of the Sevillians, in a corner, a beautiful play by Lopetegui’s blackboard surprised the Barça defense when Xavi’s team played better. When everyone was waiting for the header of a player as tall as a Sant Pau, Rakitic’s cross found Sevilla’s youngest, Papu Gómez, who left Ter Stegen with a slap in the face.
Recovering the ball very quickly thanks to the defensive sacrifice of a midfielder led by Busquets and a plugged Gavi as always, Barça played a gentleman in the first half in which, at times, you could forget all the darkness of recent months. It was a team with face and eyes, easy to recognize, with an identity. Reality, however, cannot be made up. And from time to time Dembélé did one of his own, lost the ball, and reminded everyone that there was still a lot of work to be done. Frenkie De Jong has not yet found his place either, becoming a real challenge for Xavi, who is working to join the cause. With a lot of control and little spark, the goal only came with the same weapon as the locals: a corner kick. If Sevilla had hit from below, Barça would have hit from above with an impressive non-motorized flight from Araujo, a savior by scoring the equalizer just before the break.
The red in Koundé, key
The last game of the year was a tedious match between two projects that needed the win to believe in themselves despite the casualties. If Xavi misses Pedri and Ansu, Lopetegui did not have Jesús Navas, Lamela and Acuña. The second half, however, seemed to lean towards the hosts’ side, more aggressive and brave after the break, until in an unimportant play Alba fouled Koundé. And the French defender lost control and blew the ball in his hands against Alba’s face. Red manual and a little air to breathe for a Barça too short of cash to face such a demanding schedule.
The Koundé red card gave wings to a Barça player who, once again, lost a player due to injury, in this case Eric Garcia. Every game, sticks on the wheels in the form of physical problems for a team without aim. Only Dembélé, capable of the best and the worst, was left on the verge of beating Bounou with a shot that ended up on the post. Sevilla, however, knew how to tie short the attacks of a Barça that tried hard, but that only had the resource to give minutes to Luuk de Jong. The match, which seemed destined to be a trip to the slaughterhouse not so long ago, ended up becoming a statement of intent by a team that was stubborn in proving that there was a future. And that the first fruits can be harvested in a few weeks. Barça is on the right track.
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