João Félix said that he knows what is happening to Atleti, but that he cannot say. Well, it would be good if he said it, because the Atleti thing is a mystery at the level of the Holy Trinity or the law of succession of prime numbers. He begins by missing a penalty despite which he gets 2-0 before half an hour, creating the aroma of a win, after which he concedes three goals in twelve minutes (two with penalties given away) and still has time to make it 3-3 on the brink of rest. In the second half, one of his central defenders was sent off. Ten against eleven, Atleti withdrew until a very last minute outburst in which the substitute center-back made it 4-3.
That victory, together with those of Betis yesterday in Orriols and Real against Granada, raised the bar for Barça before their match against Espanyol with the border of fourth place as a minimum objective. And although he kept that position ‘in extremis’, Cornellà did not hang any laurel on him even though the final tie, with a mere character of lesser evil, produced a passing joy. It was rather a serious disappointment for Espanyol, who had worked the game well and had the victory when the discount was already expiring. The goal came in a ball from Adama to the pot finished off by the giant Luuk de Jong. Nothing Barca style. Football before and always.
There are lights and shadows in Xavi’s Barça, which sometimes seems about to set and suddenly cuts like mayonnaise. Frenkie de Jong, who previously seemed the good of the two, has become a foreign body. Gavi and Pedri work, but Ferran Torres does not appear. Adama Traoré overflows again and again but at the same time he does it, he alters the tiqui-taca that purists yearn for. Eric Garcia is not a reinforcement for the defense because he plays football well but he is not a defender. The race for the two Champions League spots left by Madrid and Sevilla includes Betis (with an advantage), Barça, Atlético, Real Sociedad, and Villarreal. It’s going to be very hard.
#Luuk #Jong #Xavi #trouble