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the hot notes of Barça-Espanyol

BarcelonaBarça draw against Espanyol in the New Year’s Barcelona derby. Marcos Alonso opened the scoring in the first half and Joselu Mato equalized with a penalty in the second half. With this result, Real Madrid closes 2022 leader of the League. Next, some hot notes.

Caution without effect. The controversy of the previous derby – the caution to Lewandowski – has caught the ownership of the matador Polish, who only took seven minutes to intervene in a goal. A short-sighted (and short-term) maneuver by Barça and, in particular, by Pere Mellado, Laporta’s trusted man in the legal area. The club has played with the times and, aside from angering its city rival, has postponed the punishment for its most decisive footballer. But the measure has not been enough to defeat Espanyol. In fact, if the parrots have equalized, it was thanks to the same man who opened the scoring at the behest of Lewy. Marcos Alonso, author of the goal, committed a clear and unintentional penalty that Joselu converted in the second half.

Mateu Lahoz’s show. When Espanyol equalized, Barça had already lost the thread of the game for some time. The blaugranes looked at everything with a dangerous complacency and the white-and-blues were in an ascending phase. But the essential turning point for the locals to lose focus was Mateu Lahoz, who ignited the spirits with debatable decisions (aside from the penalty), charged conversations and, to top it all off, the expulsion of Jordi Alba for protesting . Xavi said on Friday that he liked the Valencian player for his didactic spirit. I don’t know if Egarenc will still think the same after the derby. However, I am clear that the precautionary measures via ordinary justice do not help to restrain the arbitral state. Mateu’s performance proves it.

Xavi and the search for the ideal midfielder. The Barça coach has made a lineup without two of his protégés. Dembélé, a World Cup finalist, has been a substitute behind Ansu Fati and Raphinha, while De Jong has started the game as a pivot to the detriment of Busquets, who has remained on the bench in the last game of 2022. Without Badia at the base, the team gains youth and dynamism, but loses attributes in the ball exit and coordination when pressing. In addition, Pedri must receive further back to compensate for the positional deficit of De Jong and Gavi. Do you now understand why Xavi is asking for Zubimendi or, if not, a contract extension for the captain?

Without institutional representation? As a sign of protest against the injunction against Lewandowski, Espanyol has decided not to send any official representation to the New Year’s derby. A respectable decision, although not free from populism, which should not divert the urgent urgencies facing the second part of the season, in which the shadow of relegation will not disappear if Diego Martínez’s team does not apply as when facing his eternal opponent. Having said that, the pericada has indeed had an illustrious presence in Arístides Maillol’s box office: Iván de la Peña and Mauricio Pochettino have seen the duel on site. The former scored both goals in Espanyol’s last victory at Camp Nou, which was in 2009 with the latter acting as white-and-blue coach. They are not just any.

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