BarcelonaBarça’s victory in San Mamés. The ninth with a binary result (0-1 or 1-0) in this League and the umpteenth taking the liver out of the mouth. A goal from Raphinha before the break was enough to desecrate the Cathedral. Next, some hot notes.
Ter Stegen was the best. And this, in case of victory, usually means that Barça has suffered to achieve it. Deprived of the best version of Lewandowski, the Catalan team keeps the wings of the German goalkeeper, who intervened favorably even in life-and-death actions that were already canceled due to a foul or offside. Athletic deserved a draw and bemoaned VAR’s clinical eye against a leader who continues to be on the loose when it comes to attacking play, but retains solidity a week before the El Clasico. The reality is stubborn: no one can match this Barça in the League.
We don’t want to miss it. Barça is suffering without Pedri in the middle of the field. The canary magician is pause, imagination and control of the situation in the three-quarters area. Gavi and De Jong, interior players like him, are good players, but they represent something else. That is why the goal assists, when the young man from Tegueste is not there, must be seen and executed by Busquets. If Raphinha served as the only goal against Valencia, in San Mamés he repeated, after a first half of collective inferiority, with the same recipient. Xavi does not want to miss Badia’s; that’s why I’m asking for its renewal.
Iñigo Martínez: signing. With Sergi Roberto already tied up until 2024 and with Busquets about to receive a formal proposal to extend his contract, Barça’s straits with the fair play financial forces force him to be modest with market objectives. In Bilbao he faced Iñigo Martínez, one of the players who conform to the maxim of not stretching the arm more than the sleeve. The left central (31 years old) is free on June 30 and it is a great game if the injuries respect him. Already recovered from the plantar fasciitis that has KO’d him in recent weeks, he played a remarkable role. Lewandowski found him little tickled.
what sadness The day Florentino sang his What about mine particularly with the Negreira case, Barça visited a famous stadium in the middle of the noise – tickets rained down with the word mafia– because of the scandal of the last few days. For the general public and for the Prosecutor’s Office, it is an arbitration scandal even if there is no solid evidence. On the other hand, for the small pot of Barça people, and given the evidence that 7.3 million was paid for who knows what, it is a shame relative to the dubious governance of the last 20 years at the club. Nevertheless, Laporta continues to do his thing: denouncing campaigns while remaining silent. Sad.