Touched and sunk. Pedri looked to the sky in search of an answer, a divine sign that would explain this punishment. Because? Really? What have we done to deserve this? His eyes said all that. He was huffing, walking with his arms on his hips. He was devastated, looking like he didn’t understand anything. He covered his face with his shirt, chosen MVP but defeated. Earth, swallow me. Everything backwards. What started well ended badly.
The referee had just blown the final whistle. Not long ago, Sorloth had put an end to all the dreams, that he had pierced the heart of Barcelona fans, including Pedri’s. It was 36 seconds into the 95th minute of the game. The six added bonuses that the referee had given were about to expire, Barça wanted to win a match that they had forgiven and ended up losing in a textbook counterattack in the very last action.
The silent entertainer
Without Lamine Yamal and without the cheering stands, the Canary Islander opened the scoring and gave three clear chances
The mattress defense cut off an inside pass from Raphinha. De Paul advanced down the right and looked long for Molina’s career, who crossed. The delivery passed between Cubarsí’s legs and Raphinha couldn’t cut it. The Norwegian hunter bagged it. And red colorín. There are few things more cruel than an outcome like this. The canary’s performance did not deserve that ending.
The Barcelona midfielder did almost everything perfect. He opened the scoring in the first half and distributed candy during the second half for his fellow Sentinels. There was no way. Only he could beat Oblak. And that’s not possible. Missing so many clear chances it is impossible not to get penalized.
Total incomprehension
The midfielder looked to the sky in search of an answer to explain this punishment. Because? Really? What have we done to deserve this?
With Montjuïc orphaned from the hustle and bustle without the entertainment space, Pedri livened up the scene. He neither screams nor sings – he barely raises his voice – but when he has the ball in his boots it is as if he had a megaphone because he manages to get the audience out of their seats and split the defenses in half.
In the absence of Lamine Yamal, the Canarian revived a Barcelona team that hates rivals who want to lock themselves in and shines when big teams appear. That is where he has been able to show his true potential. They beat Bayern and Madrid, defeated Borussia and were left halfway against Atlético, who stole the lead.
Without making much noise, Pedri makes a noise, without shouts he proclaims that he commands and governs. Barça with him is not silent although part of the stands still miss the chants asking for the groups to return to the cauldron’s goal. “Volem la gradada d’animació”, was heard.
But Pedri doesn’t need music to dance, he puts the melody himself and changes the rhythm with which he breaks Atlético’s defensive lines. He stands on the edge of the area where he makes the wall with Gavi, who half inadvertently returns the ball to him. And the Tenerife native, who has played the last 17 games as a starter, places the low shot at the base of the post.
It is not artificial or exaggerated, but everything it does is essential. In the second half, with three soft touches he dismantled Cholo’s entire defensive network. He leaves Fermín alone, who misses the mark against Oblak, then Raphinha (vaseline to the crossbar) and once again the Brazilian, who shoots with his right foot from no angle. And even in the 88th minute Oblak scored a goal against Pedri himself, who could not imagine what would happen in the 95m36s.
#Pedri #rules #minute #seconds
