Not because it is mandatory will never cease to excite me that American events of a certain relevance begin with the interpretation of the anthem. It never hurts to remember where you are and what you do. Lewandowski faced his third game with the question of whether he would finally score or would seriously begin to write the legend of his jinx at Barça. Minor rival, euphoric crowd. Dembélé was in the starting eleven, acting as Xavi’s spoiled madman. Frenkie De Jong, also a starter, made an effort to do well and to be liked. Little success. With the pair of central defenders, Christensen and Éric, Xavi wanted to make sure he came out clean, with the first free pass, but the team wandered around the pitch aimlessly, too hastily and messy. Lewandowski began by hindering Dembélé, with the point of anxiety from which he has already realized that he begins to owe us something. Red Bull did more than Barça. They looked and felt inferior, but with effort and perseverance they tried to get ahead in a game that they normally lost and landslide. Dembélé is not trustworthy, and basing a sports project on him is reckless. But it would be absurd to deny him his virtues, his ability to accelerate the game and overwhelm the rival. Always chaotic, always individualistic, always as if it were a mushroom alien to the world, the Frenchman was the only remarkable thing about Barça. Lewandowski had it in the head but continued to miss. The mediocrity of the local team underlined the inanity of Xavi’s men. Lewandoski’s insistence continued without reward. Good Christensen on the inside game. Raphinha with Bielsa was more important. He can play perfectly like Xavi lined him up yesterday, but he didn’t seem as comfortable or as productive as he did at Leeds. As the game progressed, he changed sides with Dembélé. Lewandowski in minute 24 failed what only Ferran Torres dared to fail. The legend of the jinx was beginning to show on his face. Dembélé continued to be Barça’s only offensive argument. The announcers of TV3, which broadcast the match for Catalonia, encouraged each other, assuring that the Pole “scores many goals in training.” Quite pathetic, especially when half an hour later the poor man crashed his hopes again against the local goalkeeper, Carlos Coronel. The Red Bull was not even for a canapé. It is impossible to win a game with so little, and precisely the fact that Barça was not able to get past that band of incompetents made one think of all the collapses of a team whose football model has been as celebrated as it has been neutralized in any corner of the world . With a dry shot, good assistance from Raphinha, Dembélé put his team ahead. In stark contrast to his new partner, one who had gotten her into it. Sweet moment of the boy, although I continue to think that he is a brainless, that this preseason is a flash and that Xavi was wrong last season making the game pass so much through his boots. In any case, it is true that it is always better to have a madman than a jinx. MORE INFORMATION Dembélé, Xavi’s prodigal son The ruined Barcelona is the club in the major leagues that has spent the most Barça faces the same collapses Ansu came in for Dembélé, among other changes, five, after the break. The Red Bulls laid the rug for Lewandowski to score, swapping the solid goalkeeper Coronel for the rather firecracker substitute. Kessié and Pedri of interiors. Piqué, also whistled in New York, although not as much as in Las Vegas or Dallas. Lewandowski didn’t even score on the rebound and was visibly beginning to get impatient. Robert, I’ve been telling you for days. In my restaurants no one would make you wait that long. Everything has its age. Even the substitute goalkeeper, quite package, stopped the shots. Xavi put up with him on the field to see if he scored, which put even more pressure on him. His teammates, to help him, made him get all the possible balls even if it was at the price of wasting good opportunities that perhaps with them would have had a better destiny. In the end not even Xavi could stand the comedy any longer and in minute 72 he was replaced by Memphis Depay, who scored the second showing that it wasn’t that complicated. Ansu tried to demonstrate, with little luck, that he is not finished. An impotent and sad Barça, like the one that has dragged itself across Europe in recent years, gave no sign of hope or light in New York. A spontaneous invasion marked the end of an unfortunate game.
