BarcelonaWhen Barça and Madrid cross paths, sparks fly. It does not matter that it is far from home, during a tour where the priority of the clubs is to make money and the coaches think of drawing conclusions for the league. When there’s a classic, players get hooked. Not long ago, it seemed a sin that Barça and Madrid could play a friendly, being a special match. But today everything seems to be for sale and the two eternal rivals have seen each other in Dallas. What luck for the young Andalusian Fermín López, Xavi’s big bet this season. The midfielder, who last year played on loan at Linares, would certainly not have played an official match, but a friendly, yes. And how he took advantage of it. It was his great American night, rescuing Barça when they were suffering the most, in an unexpected thrashing. Fermín finished with a golàs and gave the third to Ferran.
A balsamic and suffering victory, to face the season with optimism. And to see if Fermín manages to make a space for himself among the stars. What a sport, this. Ter Stegen, Lewandowski, Vinicius, Modric have played… and the glory has gone to this young man who has earned Xavi’s trust. The coach from Valais has given him minutes. And Fermín has gone out to eat the world.
His goal, as well as the defensive work of Oriol Romeu and Araujo, were the best of the game at times, hard. “Barça-Madrid, Texas style” read a banner in the stands. Perhaps he was referring to the fact that the Texans have a reputation for being tough people and that they don’t joke with them. The players have understood that. The game, at times, has been a pole dance, with a lot of yellow cards. A game where it has to be said, Madrid could have scored goals. They missed a penalty and hit the posts six times. They were not on target.
After offering a weak image against Arsenal, when without rhythm the Barça defense cracked, in Dallas Xavi’s team took a step forward. Despite having less training than Carlo Ancelotti’s men, they have gone out to play without fear on the pitch, with ambition. Like jeans do. Xavi opted for a familiar system, that of four midfielders, but with new protagonists. Behind, Oriol Romeu close to a more mobile De Jong. Up front, Pedri and Gündogan in the engine room, looking for the smell of Lewandowski and the legs of Dembélé. Already at the start, Oriol Romeu has sent a whip to the crossbar of Courtois. Shortly after, Barça struck first with a delicious strategy move that seemed to have been devised in a laboratory. Gündogan took a free-kick towards the front of the area, where Pedri waited to see how the Madrid defense came running, to send the ball to his back. Dembélé, now that he is receiving siren songs from Paris, has not failed.
Quarrels and tension
A good performance by Blaugrana against a Madrid that will have to learn to live without Benzema. Now, they have made a good signing with Bellingham, who seems to connect with the Brazilians Vinicius and Rodrygo. Little by little, Madrid has gained control of the game, taking advantage of the fact that it has more competition. And he could have equalized when Araujo already made a childish mistake, touching a ball inside the area with his hands. Vinicius, however, has sent it to the crossbar. Barça was looking for Dembélé and Madrid, for Vinicius, in a match that has been heating up with hard enough fouls, such as one by Camavinga on Araujo that almost injured the Uruguayan defender. If Xavi had complained about Arsenal’s intensity in the first pre-season friendly, he could not do so against Madrid. These games must be intense. Maybe too much. In fact, before the break, three players had already asked to be changed due to physical discomfort, Christensen, Gündogan and Madrid’s Mendy. Nothing serious, luckily. And speaking of fortune, it seemed to be in Barça’s favour, as the goal was twice avoided by the post before half-time. On one occasion, a shot from Vinicius missed by inches.
Seeing how Barça came out more focused in the second half, with good minutes from Oriol Romeu, a De Jong with character and with Pedri more connected than against Arsenal, Ancelotti called the old guard: Kroos and Modric. And Xavi’s team has lost the ball. Araujo defended the small area well, but a shot from Tchouameni from the front almost ended in a goal. Again, with a bit of luck, since the ball, after touching the crossbar, landed on the back of Ter Stegen’s neck. Barça tried to counter with Balde and a Dembelé that didn’t last long, on the grass. More subdued than in the second half, he has been replaced by Raphinha. Lewandowski, frustrated, has touched few balls.
Barça quickly understood the scenario: the famous virus that the team suffered and having arrived a few days later than Madrid on American soil caused the game to take too long. It was time to suffer and withstand the attacks of a Madrid that had more than 20 shots on goal, but without aiming. And when he had aim, Ter Stegen appeared. And the good work of Araujo and a much improved Oriol Romeu compared to the first match forced the Real Madrid players to look for forced shots. Waiting to see how Mbappé’s streak ends, Madrid knows it will miss Benzema’s goals. In fact, Ancelotti has brought in Joselu, but the former Espanyol player didn’t have the day either. Madrid have now hit the post six times. Six times, many. In defence, Barça will have to work, waiting to see what role Iñigo Martínez can play.
With 15 minutes to go, Xavi has finished revolutionizing the team with five changes, to have energy and new legs. It was time to hold on and see if Ansu or Abdu, who had left good details against Arsenal, finished the job. But the glory ended up in the hands of the young Fermín, who had already enjoyed many minutes against Arsenal. First, he made it 2-0 with a magnificent shot from the front, which he celebrated like crazy. And in the last minute, he recovered a ball and gave it to Ferran, who scored the definitive 3-0. “We don’t have any problem playing whoever wins it in training. He is a boy who knows how to play, who is helping us and will be able to help us during the season,” said Xavi, who also asked for caution. “Neither was the team bad when they lost to Arsenal, nor are we the best in the world now. Bad things were done today,” he said. And he was right. The one who has not made mistakes has been Fermín, who arrived at Barça when he was a child and chased Messi around the Masia, to take pictures with him. A young man who celebrated his goal by kissing his shield. What an American night, Fermín’s. From Linares to Dallas in a few weeks. A dream come true.
FC Barcelona: Ter Stegen, Koundé, Christensen (Eric García, 28′), Araujo, (Ansu Fati, 75′), Balde (Marcos Alonso, 75′), Oriol Romeu (Dest, 75′), De Jong (Abde, 75′), Gündogan (Sergi Roberto, 41′), Pedri (Fermin, 65′), Lewandowski (Ferran Torres, 75′) and Dembélé (Raphinha, 65′). Real Madrid: Courtois, Carvajal, Eder Militao, Alaba, Mendy (Fran Garcia, 44′), Tchouameni, Valverde (Modric, 58′), Camavinga (Kroos, 58′), Bellingham (Joselu, 73′), Rodrygo (Brahim , 83′) and Vinicius Junior. Goals: 1-0 Dembélé (15′), 2-0 Fermín (85′) and 3-0 Ferran Torres (90′). Referee: Allen Chapman (United States) Yellow cards: Tchouameni (25′), Camavinga (33′), De Jong (40′), Carvajal (45′), Kounde (52′), Oriol Romeu (71′) and Alaba (80′) Red cards: none. Stadium: AT&T Stadium in Dallas.
2023-07-29 23:04:01
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