2023-12-13 02:36:33
FC Barcelona closes the group stage of the Champions League against Antwerp at the Bosuilstadion (9:00 p.m. on Movistar Champions League) with the peace of mind of being classified and being virtually first in the group, but the atmosphere in the Blaugrana team is far from a lot of being placid (follow the game live on As.com). The victory two weeks ago against Porto in Montjuïc calmed things down a lot and seemed to give the Blaugrana team a boost after two seasons in which the Champions League had been torture in which the team fell in the first phase and was condemned to play the Europa League. Now, this terrible scenario has disappeared. Barça is classified and to be first in the group they need a point or, in case of defeat, a difference of minus seven goals between their match against Antwerp (which has not yet won) and those that Shakhtar scores against Porto.
But the waters have been rough in Barcelona since Girona beat Barça 2-4 on Sunday in Montjuïc. Xavi’s words stating that “the project is still under construction” raised dust and did not conform to what two heavyweights of the team such as Frenkie de Jong and Robert Lewandowski said after the game.
Sportingly, Barcelona needs to get off the canvas, but there is also the economic factor. The defeat against Shakhtar in Porto felt as bad for the board because of what happened on the field as because of the economic impact of the defeat. The economic situation of the Catalan team does not allow it to do without the 2.8 million that are earned per victory.
It may be the sporting factor, the economic factor or a combination of both that has led Xavi to improvise and change the team’s travel plans. Neither De Jong, nor Gündogan, nor Araújo nor Robert Lewandowski had been included in the first call for this match, but yesterday morning everyone was on the list except Frenkie de Jong, who avoided the trip due to having a fever.
Even so, the Barcelona coach’s idea is to give minutes to youngsters from the quarry, starting with Lamine Yamal.
Casadó, Alarcón, Héctor Fort, Guiu and Pau Cubarsí have traveled to Antwerp. Guiu, who comes from having a great U-17 World Cup and who debuted with a goal 32 seconds after his debut in the first team against Athletic, is the one who seems to have minutes and more options for the reconstruction.
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Classification
Group H PT PJ PG PE PP
12
5
4
0
1
2
9
5
3
0
2
3
9
5
3
0
2
4
0
5 0 0 5 Group H PT PJ PG PE PP
12
5
4
0
1
2
9
5
3
0
2
3
9
5
3
0
2
4
0
5 0 0 5 Leaders Possession recoveries
1702446063
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