2023-09-29 22:55:37
BarcelonaWith more raucous than football, Barça made their hearts beat to high pulsations to defeat Sevilla (1-0) in Montjuïc and get rid of the bad taste of the draw in Mallorca. With more will than order, Xavi’s team adds three more points that put them back at the top of the table, waiting for what Girona and Real Madrid do this Saturday. And if the heart of Barça beats, it is thanks to Lamine Yamal and Fermín López, two demonic youngsters who took it upon themselves to make an entire football institution such as Sergio Ramos lose its seams. At 37 years old and in his 48th match with Barça – more than any other rival –, the Sevilla centre-back scored the only goal of the match. Meanwhile, close by, another veteran like Joaquín Sabina filled the Palau Sant Jordi with good music.
The cross for a goal that is worth its weight in gold was from Ferran Torres, who looks better in the suit of a shocker than the starter. He had entered just five minutes ago when he served a precise ball at the second post that Lamine Yamal wanted to turn into an assist for Fermín López. The 16-year-old’s faith and the 20-year-old’s insistence led to a rare mistake from a running defender as neat as Ramos, who made a poor clearance and sent the ball into the back of his own goal. Barça could have extended the score, with another chance at the end, but a distracted Robert Lewandowski sinned selfishly when he had Fermín all alone on the edge to finish.
The triumph allows Xavi to release adrenaline in industrial quantities, because the truth is that the Egarenc had left for the break well prepared. The second half changed the face of the game. During the first half, it is true that Barça did more than Sevilla to take the lead, but at no time did they feel like they were in control of the game. After the poor comeback against Celta and the draw in Mallorca, the coach shook up the system and opted for a very offensive 4-3-3. So much so that one of the insiders was Raphinha. Partly because of a tactical issue, partly because Frenkie de Jong and Pedri are injured. An infirmary to which will also have to be added the loss of the Brazilian attacker, injured shortly before the break.
A 4-3-3 with a very offensive vocation
With Raphinha coming in as an inside player and playing with Gündogan as the only pivot, Barça had four forwards almost in line when attacking. When Cancelo occupied the inside lanes, the Brazilian often tried to get off the mark, with Ter Stegen being his main passer. A rehearsed move by the right profile that was explained because, with the full-back Pedrosa hanging on to Lamine Yamal, Raphinha was looking to tickle the back of Sevilla’s left centre-back, Sergio Ramos. In one of these unmarked is when he was injured.
That Xavi wanted to continue with this plan was clear with the hot choice of Raphinha’s replacement. The coach chose Fermín Suárez, a midfielder with the soul of a striker. If Xavi had chosen to bring in Oriol Romeu, the team would have gained in control, because the interior players would have been Gündogan and Gavi, but with the choice of Fermín he made it clear that he wanted to continue attacking the left profile of the Seville defence. All in all, what remained was a Barça with more offensive vocation than success.
João Félix came closest to finding the goal in the first half, but, as in Mallorca, he hit the woodwork again. It was one of Barça’s most beautiful plays. Lamine Yamal, who had had a doubtful start to his return to the starting line-up – it’s normal, he’s 16 years old – talentedly brought down a ball for the other João, Cancelo, to invent a great individual action that would end with Félix’s shot on the crossbar.
The former Atlético de Madrid player had also starred in Barça’s first great opportunity, with a cross shot that Sevilla’s Norwegian goalkeeper, Nyland, successfully saved. It was an occasion preceded by an offensive excursion from Christensen, who broke the lines with a good pass. This is one of the great virtues of the Dane and Xavi has been asking him to exploit it more for some time now.
It will be necessary to extract more juice from this and many other resources, because Barça collects three points against Sevilla but will need to be a much more consistent team now that the Champions League is back. Wednesday visit to Do Dragão. Porto is waiting. Better go there with the taste of victory on your lips.
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