BarcelonaBarça’s minimum victory against Mallorca to stay second in the League. Xavi’s team beat a much lower set with goals from Memphis and Busquets. Then the hot notes of the match.
Memphis il·lumina Ferran. The team was reunited with the Camp Nou after three consecutive defeats and the one in charge of raising the morale was a striker for whom there will be offers to generate fair play. Memphis, Xavi’s Barça reserve, filled Dembélé’s vacancy – he has had tonsillitis – and displaced Ferran Torres, again far from explaining why it cost 55 million, on the right. The Dutchman took responsibility for the smile on a sad team, as when it was his turn to lead the attack after Messi’s departure. He scored a good goal breaking the defense with a great move in space. Whatever is asked of Ferran, go.
Busquets, everywhere. The three points added against Mallorca are valuable because they consolidate the goal of the season. Another thing is the game of the team, which was again slow, poor in ideas in the middle – how is missing Pedri! – And too devoted to the centers that Koeman liked so much. At least, however, Barça express themselves with the lines together and do not tend to get rid of. The greatest help is Busquets, who enjoys jumping under pressure, sweeping transitions and distributing judiciously. His level of incidence with the interiors in low hours brings him closer to the rival area and the possibility of scoring goals as the second that fit Rico.
An unconstructive message. Barça have to be very fair in defense so that Xavi has to line up Piqué, literally lame for a muscular issue, ahead of Eric Garcia or Lenglet. And the Barcelona center-back has to go a long way, also from the change of coach, to decide to be a starter – being injured – with the team playing for the place in the Champions League in the league matches that stay. Do you have to take these risks in front of a Mallorca with the fearsome Do Niño be the only offensive reference? Is this message of superiority uplifting in the context of Barça’s reconstruction?
Customer vocation. Joan Laporta made a call via social media to the fans just when Real Madrid was celebrating the Cibeles League. “The team we are building needs your trust, Catalans,” said the 24-hour president of Barça-Mallorca. Beyond the sad attempt to counter-program the joy of the eternal rival, the stadium stands showed that with motivational videos the attendance is not raised. Without a loyalty policy or professional management of the ticketing to review the regime of recent years, the Camp Nou will continue to be a rather uncritical and clientelistic temple. Maybe that’s how they want it in the market.
