Xavi Hernández’s Barcelona arrived yesterday in Mallorca with ten players from the subsidiary, since COVID-19 and the constant muscle injuries that its players are suffering left yesterday an unusual squad devastated by absences.
Knowing the background, the vast majority of experts and fans of this sport predicted a very tough game for Barça, taking into account that the vermilion team was one of the teams least accused of the virus in the first division.
From the first minute, the Catalan team took the reins of the game and dominated the rival field with an excessively fluid circulation not to enjoy players like Busquets, Gavi or Pedri.
During the rest of the first half the protagonist was one of the most criticized players of recent times in Barcelona: Luuk de Jong. In the first place, he was much more successful than usual in first-touch combinations, a characteristic that has been criticized on many occasions. Near the halfway point of the first half he crashed a ball into the post after a good break from the break. Minutes later he sent a Chilean to the crossbar that would have lifted all the fans from their seats.
Just before the break, a great lateral center allowed the Dutch player to overtake his team with a header that had the help of Manolo Reina, Mallorca goalkeeper, who slipped just when trying to stop the leather.
During the vast majority of the second half, Barça continued to be the protagonist with and without the ball of the game, but during the last 10 minutes they had a pretty bad time. Many players from the subsidiary came in to hold the result, a consequence of some physical discomfort from players like Nico.
It was then when the heart of all the culés stopped. Two minutes from the end, a center walked through the Blaugrana area and ended up being finished off with a volley by Jaume Costa a meter from the goal.
Marc-André ter Stegen took out the hero suit that had been gathering dust in the closet for a long time and with a hand worthy of his legendary futsal stop, he gave Barcelona three points. In an act of camaraderie and gratitude, all the players went to hug him when the play ended.
Yesterday a Barça with claw was seen for the first time, with attitude. A united team that knows that the goal is far away but nothing achievable is impossible. The Barça that we all want to see.
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