Day 31
Xavi’s team beat Levante in a match in which they suffered three penalties against and in which the Dutchman, Aubameyang and Pedri scored
Luuk de Jong is a lifeboat for Barcelona. The Dutchman entered the field of play with six minutes remaining in the game and decided on a clash from which it seemed impossible to get three points. Levante was ahead on the scoreboard, had three penalties in their favor and subdued the azulgranas for many minutes, but did not finish the job. Aubameyang and Pedri changed the match with their goals and Luuk de Jong appeared in injury time with a header that brought the Champions League place closer and allowed them to build morale ahead of the ‘final’ against Eintracht in the Europa League.
“We can’t lose as many balls as we did against Eintracht, Levante in a game like this can run over you,” Xavi warned. And he couldn’t be more accurate. The Catalan knew the strengths of a team that was going to pose a match similar to that of the Europa League. Alessio Lisci’s men came out with a 5-3-2 and individual pressure that complicated the Catalans and that initially generated inaccuracies similar to those of the match in Germany. Barça, without Pedri due to a technical decision, entered with doubts and was quickly surprised by a rival who had two occasions at the feet of Morales and Campaña that could well have given the azulgranas an initial upset.
They were minutes in which it was already possible to intuit what Barcelona was going to face. Levante alternated the pressure up front with a low block to go on the run thanks to the speed of Morales and Roger. Thus came the clearest chance for the Comandante after dribbling up to three Catalan defenders in a Maradonian play that ran into Ter Stegen and an Eric García who saved under the sticks. It was the worst moment for an uncomfortable Barça during the first 45 minutes, which was not able to entrench its rival and only created danger after a long ball that Ferran Torres caught and ended up in the hands of Cárdenas. Barça was blurred without finding the compass at the feet of Busquets and De Jong and with the need to find an antidote to react after the break.
two
I raised
Cárdenas, Miramón, Róber Pier, Postigo, Vezo (Cantero, min. 76), Son, Radoja (Bardhi, min. 76), Pepelu, Campaña (Melero, min. 65), Morales (Pubill Pages, min. 90) and Roger (Dani Gómez, min. 65).
3
Barcelona
Ter Stegen, Alves, Araujo, Eric García, Alves (Lenglet, min. 80), Busquets, Frenkie de Jong (Gavi, min. 56), Nico (Pedri, min. 56), Dembélé (Adama, min. 84), Ferran Torres and Aubameyang (Luuk de Jong, min. 84).
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Goals:
1-0: min. 52, Morales. 1-1: min. 59, Aubameyang. 1-2: min. 63, Pedro. 2-2: min. 83, Melero. 2-3: min. 92, Luuk de Jong. -
Referee:
Munuera Montero (Andalusian Committee). He admonished Campaña and Araujo. -
Incidents:
Match corresponding to the 31st day of the League, played at the Ciutat de València before 26,000 spectators.
After the restart, Barça made an attempt to react after a header from Ferran Torres that Dani Cárdenas saved. It was a mirage. Levante returned to their rights with vertical plays with which Morales was a real nightmare behind the back of the wings. In one of them it was Son who won the game against Alves and the Brazilian stuck out his arm to knock him down, an error that the Comandante was not going to forgive from eleven meters to overtake the Granotas and confirm the bad feelings of the Catalans. It could have been even worse if Ter Stegen hadn’t saved a second penalty in Roger Martí’s boots after a handball from Eric García.
decisive changes
Xavi reacted with the entry of Pedri and Gavi, two modifications that were going to be the light for the azulgranas. Between the two they revitalized the core culé and began to turn around an afternoon that seemed terrifying. Aubameyang headed a measured center from Dembélé into the net to score the equalizer and, without time to digest the goal, Gavi feinted from the left and gave Pedri the second to the desperation of a Ciutat de València who had bitten just seven minutes earlier nails before the possibility of achieving 2-0 from the penalty spot. The game was broken and, being Valencia, the final fireworks was missing. Lenglet knocked down Dani Gómez in the area and Melero beat Ter Stegen to return the equalizer to the scoreboard.
It was then that Xavi remembered the ‘Luuk de Jong formula’, which consists of bringing in the Dutchman and putting balls in the pot. As simple as effective. The former Sevilla player caught a center from Jordi Alba, finished off like a hammer, and ended with a Levante that is seeing salvation further and further.
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