The azulgrana team suffers the third loss in a row at home, unable to overcome an adverse goal early on
It wasn’t yesterday’s game Camp Nou the most wanted party invitation in town. Rayo Vallecano lacks commercial sensuality and is not accompanied by brave bars like the German Eintracht. But installed comfortably in the middle of the table, Vallecas appeared liberated and daring and hid all the drink. There was no party. More like a funeral. Rayo endorsed the azulgranas for the third consecutive defeat at home (0-1) and disorientation has definitively taken over the Barcelona team and bench.
Before Rayo, Barça was presented as the ugly and shy of the party, shrunken and looking for the shadows. Getting a place for the next Champions is not the driving motivation to try to embrace the League, but it is not a minor matter. And although it is not appropriate to doubt their desire, because they are not these savvy and accommodating footballers, it seems evident that they have suddenly watered down their ideas and have lost the automatisms that made the Bernabéu dream that the future was already here. How deluded. There are five games left that paint agony.
Frenkie Low Profile
Let’s individualize. Frenkie de Jong continues to play with an iron ball tied to his foot. At one point in the first part he chained several losses and the stands were exasperated. Wake up, she came to tell him with powerful whistles. She did not do it. An actor who needs to play a frustrated character, who looks at De Jong and his body language. He continues to be the one who promises so much and disappoints equally. Xavi, of course, believes in him, he says so at the slightest opportunity, so facing the next preseason he has before him the challenge of finding the key that will free him. Yesterday sent him to the shower early.
The Dutchman put himself in the spotlight with his insipid game, but found a few locker room buddies at his side who could not reproach him for much. Bad game from Ferran. From Aubameyang. Dest… Bad game as a group. Xavi’s team has been left in the dark since a few days. It is difficult for him to create occasions, to connect with each other, to be bossy about the game as befits his hierarchy.
little inspiration
There were some moments in the first half where a lead hailstorm from Sant Jordi would have been good to interrupt the match. So low was the inspiration, so bleak was the film. Rayo’s goal as soon as the curtain opened, a artistic work signed by Álvaro García, did not wake anyone (m. 6). A succession of flat actions and lack of synchrony from defense to attack appeared in procession. What a way to desecrate the pitch on which the women’s team danced at Wolfsburg on Friday.
On Dembélé and his usual foam, the expectations of incisive exits were turned. We witnessed a deflected shot by Alba and a shot to the crossbar by Gavi in the first half. Little thing. Xavi lost patience with those who were more disoriented. He put the boiler to boil after the break. Enter Memphis, Nico, Luuk de Jong, Adama… So in a rush The game was not embellished, if anything the temperature was raised.
nothing worked
A football with high pulsations appeared, pugilistic, bloated, as if combined with a ball that was not very round. Memphis, on one occasion, had time to take a long drink from a glass before finishing off an assist two inches from the goal that was wasted. He also tried from afar, with all his muscles. And that was basically the thing: more muscle than method. Pushing with blows more than weaving with grace and ‘finezza’. Dribbling and centers hanging from the tun tun. Sometimes enough. This was not the case this Sunday.
Not even the Luuk de Jong resource was the solution before a grandstand that helped the most, outraged with the rayista parsimony and especially with a referee who refused to call a flagrant penalty committed on Gavi before the discount, a long discount of 11 minutes in which the hole was not covered in that Xavi’s Barça has gotten into.
MATCH SHEET
Barca: Ter Stegen (5), Dest (3), Araujo (6), Eric García (4), Jordi Alba (5), Frenkie de Jong (3), Busquets (5), Gavi (7), Dembélé (6) , Aubameyang (3) and Ferran Torres (3).
Trainer: Xavi Hernandez (4)
Changes: Lenglet (5) by Dest (m. 46); Memphis (7) by Ferran (m. 60); Nico (4) by F. De Jong (60); L. De Jong (4) for Aubameyang; Adama (5) by Eric (d. 71)
Vallecano Ray: Dimietrievski (8), Balliu (6), Maras (6), Catena (7), Fran García (7), Isi (7), Santi Comesana (6), Óscar (6), Álvaro (8), Unai López ( 6) and Nteka (6).
Trainer: Andoni Iraola (8)
Changes: Guardiola (5) by Ntka (m.56); Ciss (5) by Comesaña (m.56); Óscar Trejo (6) for Óscar Valentín (m.67); Hernández (sc) by Isi Palazón (d. 87); Mario Suárez (sc) by Unai López (d. 87)
goals: Álvaro García (m. 7 after a great pass from Isi)
Referee: Díaz de Mera (4), Castilian-La Mancha.
Yellow cards: Xavi, Alba, Gavi, Dembele, Isi, Comesana, Catena Balliu
spectators: 57,023 spectators