Barça finds oil in El Sadar

2023-09-03 23:39:37

Barça gained momentum this Sunday before the national team break. The azulgranas beat Osasuna in a match in which they went from more to less and in which they did not resolve the ballot until the final moments, thanks to a penalty from Lewandowski. With this victory, in which the two Joaos made their debut, the Catalans add three consecutive victories and follow in the wake of a Real Madrid that remains intractable in the lead.

With the knife between his teeth. This is how Barça came out to fight in a Sadar packed to the brim. The Osasuna fiefdom did not disappoint despite the downturn of falling in the Conference League on Thursday and generated an atmosphere of those that make your hair stand on end. That environment did not weigh on them, yes, some culés who started the clash with the clear intention of being protagonists from the first minute. Xavi, who did not initially give Joao Cancelo and Joao Félix the alternative, doubled the bet for the 4-4-2 with Oriol Romeu and Frenkie de Jong seated in the double pivot, with Sergi Roberto in the right-hand lane and with Lamine Yamal alongside Lewandowski for the third consecutive match.

The bet was clear and known. Barça pressed in the opposite field, took control of the midfield thanks to that extra midfielder and began to widen the field of play with continuous incursions from the wingers. Thus he managed to bottle up Jagoba Arrasate’s men, who introduced up to nine changes compared to the duel played in Bruges, and thus forged an unsuccessful trickle of chances. De Jong smashed a ball into the woodwork, Lewandowski finished off wide in the small area and Gündogan missed a rebound that was free to open the scoring.

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Aitor Fernández, Areso (Nacho Vidal, min. 80), Catena, Juan Cruz, Herrando, Iker Muñoz, Ibáñez (Moncayola, min. 72), Aimar Oroz, Rubén García (Kike Barja, min. 62), Raúl (Budimir, min. 62) and Arnaiz (Chimy Ávila, min. 62).

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Barcelona

Stegen, Sergi Roberto (59 minutes), Christensen (91 minutes), Koundé, Balde, Oriol Romeu (80 minutes), De Jong, Gündogan, Gavi and Lamine Yamal (Ferran). Torres (59 mins) and Lewandowski (91 mins).

Goals 0-1: min. 45+1, Koundé. 1-1: minutes 76, Chimy Avila. 1-2: min. 86, Lewandowski, penalty.

Referee Ortiz Arias (Madrileño). He booked Lewandowski, Areso, Gavi, De Jong and Balde and sent Catena off in the 85th minute.

Incidents Match corresponding to the fourth day of the League, played in El Sadar before 21,966 spectators.

It was a promising start for the azulgranas that very soon was going to be slowed down by the momentum of Osasuna. The locals raised the intensity, advanced ranks and found talented players like Aimar Oroz or Rubén García in intermediate positions, to the point of even threatening Ter Stegen who had to intervene twice. A new afternoon of shocks for the German goalkeeper was already ruminating when Koundé flew more than anyone in a corner kick and headed into the net to thwart Osasuna’s rebellion before the break.

After the restart, Barça tried to cool the spirits of a Sadar who was clamoring to equalize the contest. The culés lowered the ball to the grass, arranged long circulations of the ball and anesthetized the local push after passing through the changing rooms. It was a moment of tranquility for Xavi, who knew that Osasuna’s final rush was missing. He brought in Cancelo and Ferran Torres to refresh the team, but it wasn’t enough to counter the masterstroke Arrasate had in store. The coach from Biscay went to plan B and introduced Barja, Chimy Ávila and Budimir in one fell swoop to turn the pitch onto Ter Stegen’s goal.

The game changed completely. The newcomers modified the energy of the clash and began a carousel of balls to the area that found a prize with a superb kick from Chimy Ávila from the front against which Ter Stegen could do nothing. Sadar came to a boil, they wanted more, and Xavi looked for offensive solutions with the entry of Joao Félix, who made his debut without much noise in the middle of the storm. Barça forgot about the break, became a participant in Osasuna’s vertigo and in a ball rained into the Lewandowski area, unprecedented until then, he was brought down by Catena as the last man. The play was oil and ended with a penalty, a red card for the defender and a goal from eleven meters from the Pole to avoid the mess in the final stretch and send the Catalans to a break with a new and long-suffering victory.