The Barça removes a weight of above

With a penalty goal celebrated as if it were worth the Champions League, Barça won Espanyol. The Barça team arrived in such a hurry to the appointment with their beloved rival that they served the victory achieved in any way, even in the most infamous and dishonorable way, which is not so from 11 meters. There was no talk at the Camp Nou of thrashing parrots, as was the case in times of opulence; it was enough to win.

The weight that Barça lifted off was comparable to the relief they felt Memphis Depay when transforming the penalty. Running, the Dutchman went to the corner, in an oversized celebration, understandable considering that the last one failed in the Rayo field and that that defeat as a result of his mistake led to the dismissal of Ronald Koeman.

Substantial improvement

No one was going to hold the team accountable even if the game had been horrible, which it wasn’t. On the contrary, it improved substantially, more upright and cheerful. The public predisposition turned it, apparently, into something apotheosis: In any case, he enthused, predicting many better nights than those lived so far. Without the anguish disappearing, of course. Xavi does not reach so much, who celebrated his debut with the dose of luck that his predecessors lacked. Dimata headed out just off Ter Stegen and De Tomas headed to the post. Also alone. Two unforgivable mistakes back still not fixed.

With eight homegrown players and three foreigners, he presented Xavi to face the challenge of his life at a crucial moment in the club. Capital situation, limit for being the only coach –there are two, but the other, Pep Guardiola, is unfeasible-, who has the ability to stop and overcome the decline of the team. He bet on the quarry for want of nothing else, with half a staff in the infirmary, although his fondness for people at home is known. As was he.

Without fear

Without fear or prudence, he awarded the derby goals to two players without the selectivity made (Ilias and Gavi) to nurture Memphis, astonished to see what his experience at Barça is giving, which began with Messi and Griezmann and continues with two juveniles. What multiplied his responsibility at the same time in a Barça whose greatest lack, the worst of its defects, is the lack of a goal. An unsolvable evil until reinforcements arrive. The goal came from a penalty.

The Barça candor was observed with greater clarity due to the substantial improvement in the game, more vertical and dynamic, with the players situated at different heights with respect to the ball holder providing more pass options, especially vertical. Nico and De Jong attacked Espanyol’s defense, taking up positions with Memphis often off-axis. As a rule, midfielders have fewer goals than forwards. The rule was upheld without exception. Nico and Busquets shot and a couple of times Ilias, left-handed playing on the right, without altering the parsimony of Diego López, who delayed each restart of the game as much as he could. He teased Del Cerro Grande from the first goal kick.

It seemed that the main idea of ​​Espanyol, to wear down Barça from the psychological plane, because he tried very little from the game. Espanyol played with a defense of four that increased to five with David López, who was only a midfielder with the courage in the feet of his teammates. In other words, almost never: 30%. Usually in the own half of the field that he defended. His presence was meaningless with the 1-0 and Espanyol was unleashed.

End suffered

Aleix Vidal, one of the Spanish escape valves, never left his area, as if he had Messi in front of him and not Gavi. Pedrosa dared a little more before the other youth, also against Abde, who demanded much more from him. He could combine with De Tomás, who anchored himself on the left to attack diagonally into the space between Mingueza and Piqué, fertile ground for Barça rivals in other times.He slipped in once and the Camp Nou trembled, sensitive to the ease with which Ter Stegen is beaten.

Barça did not evolve enough, flat and blunt the attack, due to the absence of reliable pieces. Xavi only made two changes with respect to the last line-up of Sergi Barjuan (Piqué and Ilias for Lenglet and Ansu Fati); that is, the wickers are the same. The shots of Dimata and De Tomas at the end reminded that the season will be long.

Match sheet

Barcelona: Ter Stegen (6), Mingueza (5), Piqué (6), Eric (7), Alba (5); Nico (7), Busquets (7), F. de Jong (6); Ilias (5), Memphis (6), Gavi (6).

Technical: Xavi Hernández (6).

Changes: Abde (7) by Ilias (d. 46); Coutinho (5) by Gavi (d. 70); Riqui Puig (sc) by Busquets (d. 79); Demir(sc) by Nico (d. 87); Araujo (sc) by Mingueza (d. 87).

Spanish: Diego López (7), Aleix (6), S. Gómez (5), Cabrera (6), Pedrosa (7); David López (4); Embarba (4), Herrera (5), Darder (6), Puado (6); From Thomas (7).

Technicians: Vicente Moreno (5).

Changes: Melamed (5) by Puado (m. 55); Morlanes (5) by D. López (m. 55); Dimata (sc) by Herrera (m. 78); WuLei (sc) for Embarba (m. 78); Loren (sc) for Darder (m. 94).

GOALS: 1-0 (m. 48), Memphis (p).

REFEREE: Del Cerro Grande (3), from Madrid.

Cards: Abde (m. 58), Pedrosa (m. 58), Mingueza (m. 69), F. de Jong (m. 83), Ter Stegen (m. 88), Cabrera (m. 93).

STADIUM: Camp Nou.

SPECTATORS: 74.418

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