Direct Chronicle
Barça has had a championship hangover since they won the League. The feeling is that he has not come down from the rúa through the streets of Barcelona and does not find out or care that they subject him to ridicule like Zorrilla’s. He doesn’t hit the ball, lacking competitive tension and concentration, and also shame, ridiculed on the opposite court after already being shot down at the Camp Nou by Real. He has lost solidity and clairvoyance due to the injuries to Araujo and Pedri and not a trace of the League champion has remained.
3
Masip, Iván Fresneda, Joaquín (David Torres, min. 15), Javier Sánchez, Olaza (Monchu, min. 56), Gonzalo Plata, Óscar Plano (Kike, min. 70), Machís (Lucas Rosa, min. 70), Aguado, Roque Mesa (Escudero, min. 56) and Cyle Larin
1
Ter Stegen (45th minute), Alex Balde, Marcos Alonso, Sergi Roberto (45th minute), A. Christensen, Eric Garcia, Gavi (75th minute), Frenkie De Jong and Lewandowski , Pablo Torre (Ousmane Dembele, 62nd minute) and Raphinha (Ferran Torres, 62nd minute)
Goals 1-0 min. 1: A. Christensen (pp). 2-0 min. 21: Cyle Larin. 3-0 min. 73: Gonzalo Silver. 3-1 min. 84: Lewandowski.
Referee César Soto Grado
Yellow cards Iván Fresneda (min. 26) and Raphinha (min. 62)
It is difficult for Xavi to square an eleven because the list of ups and downs has also come into play and they are waiting for the League to approve the feasibility plan to face the next season that they will play at home in Montjuïc. The Barça situation favors rivals in need of points, such as Real and Valladolid, and outrages those who are awaiting their results, none as upset as Espanyol, who for once was betting on a Barcelona victory to reinforce their aspirations of stay in the league. The blue and white expectations ended as soon as Zorrilla’s match began.
Pezzolano risked with the line-up to scare away the defeatist dynamics of the team, dejected in the last five games, and his courage was generously reciprocated by Barça. The blaugrana gave away a goal a minute into the game when Christensen, surely until last night the most reliable azulgrana footballer, impeccably headed a center from Machís to the astonishment of Ter Stegen. The records to which the goalkeeper aspires are more in danger due to the latest concessions from their defenses than due to the previous success of the League forwards. Xavi even chose to replace Ter Stegen at half-time to prevent the Zamora Trophy from escaping.
There are already six goals conceded by the German in the last three games for a total of 17 since a 0-4 turned into a 2-4 in the Alirón derby at Cornellà-El Prat. And it is that Christensen’s mistake was followed by a penalty from Eric García to Gonzalo Plata that Larin transformed. The extemporaneous tripping of the Barça center-back revealed his discomfort on the field and the precarious formation arranged by Xavi. Eric García has dressed in two games as a center midfielder after not finding a place in a defense from which Koundé has also fallen.
The Frenchman alleged muscle fatigue after being overwhelmed as a center back by Sorloth in the appointment with Real Sociedad. He does not seem very comfortable as a winger either and it is not ruled out that he could leave the Camp Nou soon. The confused Koundé did not play in Zorrilla and, nevertheless, Barcelona was also very permeable in his area to the despair of Ter Stegen. The defenders were as forgiving as the attackers because the team guaranteed a few arrivals and a series of shots from Raphinha, Lewandowski and Christensen to which Masip responded with success.
Neither Ansu Fati nor Ferran were starting out and, also in the absence of Busquets, neither of the two teams was consistent, so that the comings and goings took place in the two goals with different luck to the satisfaction of a fan who dressed the stadium in black to express his irritation with an arbitration group that he somehow blames for his bad situation in the League.
The changes only accentuated the superiority of Valladolid, always more intense than the absent Barcelona. The good notes of the rookie as starter Pablo Torre did not last more than an hour, lacking in rhythm, and replaced by Ferran. The news from the Barça side was the substitution of Raphinha. The Brazilian, fist raised, took off his shirt to show a message of solidarity and support for Vinicius: “Let’s go together Vini”. The referee applied the regulations and showed him the yellow card while the fans did not stop cheering his team, the only protagonist of the match because he still counted two shots on the post and a third goal scored by Gonzalo Plata.
Eric García was hooked again at 3-0 to endorse the nonsense of the Barça plan, only patched up at the last minute by Lewandowski’s goal of honor, which is on its way to Pichichi. The goal did not prevent the embarrassment of Barça. Reputation is also gained and lost in matches against rivals who make virtue of necessity like Valladolid.
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