BarcelonaBarça crashed into Galatasaray’s defensive wall in the first leg of the Europa League round of 16. Xavi Hernández’s team, with several changes in the starting eleven, failed to break through the opponent’s goal and will play next week in Istanbul. Then the hot notes of the duel.
The ball makes a difference. Neither Dembélé, nor Luuk de Jong nor Aubameyang, all three substitutes in a one-way commitment (who would say that Domènec Torrent defends Guardiola’s theses), undid the initial result. Barça will have to beat the Turkish hell and take the Europa League more seriously. This continental consolation is the only likely way for the first team to play titles this season. The plot is interesting enough for Xavi to urge his first unit to accompany the good placement on the grass with more inspiration and daring with the ball at his feet. We need to grow in that sense.
De Wijnaldum a Nico. The rotations rewarded Nico González, holder in the position of interior. Its beginning was brilliant. He pressed nervously and handled the ball judiciously. It is true that Gavi surpasses him in greed and audacity when he borders the rival area, but he spends some exciting foundations. He is above all an example when it comes to profiling. No control he makes when he receives the ball is sterile, it always makes sense. With more physical depth – he tends to melt – the Galician will take an active part in the replacement of the still essential Busquets, who replaced him at the break. Thank you, PSG, for bathing Wijnaldum and allowing us to find it.
Stubborn reality. While Xavi is unsuccessfully looking for a way to oxygenate Busi without disrupting the team (De Jong does not look like a positional pivot), Riqui Puig does not have a ball even in ideal matches for the substitutes to get their heads around it. None of the six changes that the coach made in relation to the match in Elche smiled on Matadepera. Xavi encourages him to keep working to play one day, but the word contrasts with the facts: Riqui is still on the bench. Right now, anything other than seeing him on loan to another team starting this summer will be a surprise. If he has to succeed at Barça one day, it will be after firing away from the Camp Nou.
Tendency to soda. He is closer to fulfilling his dream of stability at Barça Adama Traoré, for whom there is a purchase option that will be executed due to Laporta’s good relationship with Mendes. The action of the Catalan winger against Galatasaray was between correct and remarkable. Colorful and lush as always, he won many duels in Van Aanholt, the side of his area, before centering (much) and kicking (little). No one can deny his tenacity, but he should expand records. He can’t wait for all the balls on his foot with the band to run. And, considering he is a striker, he must be more threatening to rival goalkeepers.