After a somewhat disappointing 1-1 draw against Napoli in the Champions League, Barca had another tough test of sorts, but this time in the domestic rollercoaster known as La Liga.
Getafe was on the schedule today, but as any Barca fan will tell you, the fixtures against this Madrid based club are something out of nightmares rather than cozy dreams. Over the years, Getafe have made life hard for Barca, using their physicality and ability to disrupt the flow of the match to force Barca to dig deep to at least get 3 points out of the fixture.
Barca drew their earlier fixture against Getafe this season with a controversial 0-0 result, but Barca were looking to get a win against them this time, as 3 points would put pressure on Girona to see through a favorable result in their match on Monday night.
So, let’s see how Barca fared against a foe that has made life difficult in recent times.
First half
I’ll save you from the explanation of whatever happened throughout the first 15 minutes or so.
It was disgusting.
Barca attempted to bypass Getafe’s press by making darting runs behind their line and depending on key passes to generate any additional actions from those runs. But the problem was that Getafe’s press made life difficult for Barca, more specifically, it pinned them in their own half without any room to maneuver.
It’s been a common theme for Barca this season, as opposing teams have pressed Barca hard and they’ve won the battle more times than not. Is it because Barca’s possession structure against good pressing teams is lacking? Maybe because of the lack of a true circulating pivot has prevented the midfield from being as fluid as it should?
Who knows, but what we do know, is that Barca struggled to generate much of anything within the first 15 minutes…until the 20th minute hit.
Raphinha opens the scoring
It was the Brazilian Raphinha who opened the scoring.
He made a darting run on the right flank, but his run was aided by a gorgeous pass from Jules Kounde. The ball fell perfectly to the in stride Raphinha, who took a look at goal, made a few steps, then fired a perfect grounded left footed shot into the back of the net.
Good finish by Raphinha and a much needed early goal for Barca.
As the first half went along, Barca started to create more chances, all due to their pace and attacking intelligence. But they somehow couldn’t convert a single one of them, even though most of the chances were clear cut ones that should’ve been finished off.
The one most involved in these was Raphinha, but he either missed a shot or misplaced a crucial pass, preventing Barca from extending their lead to 2,3, maybe even more.
Joao Felix was involved in a chance as well, but even he failed to inject the necessary amount of quality to put away chances.
With that, the first half ended, with Barca leading 1-0.
These sort of games have usually ended in disappointing fashion for Barca, with missed chances and unlucky timed opposition goals being the downfall of any instance of acquiring 3 points.
So let’s see how Barca responded this time, in a situation that’s plagued them so many times this season.
Second half
The second half was full of fireworks, but fortunately for Barca supporters, they were provided exclusively by the home side.
Barca continued to make intelligent runs in behind Getafe’s defense, making light of an ongoing poor defensive display. They didn’t find a goal initially, but in the 53rd minute, they found their next breakthrough.
As it was Joao Felix who joined the goal scoring party.
Felix finishes off a wonderful Christensen run
Felix got the goal, but a lot of the attention went towards Andreas Christensen, who made a brilliant run from his 6 spot to supply Felix with the chance.
First it was Ilkay Gundogan who supplied Raphinha with a pass on the right flank. Raphinha then lifted his head, found a dashing Christensen, then gave him a smooth grounded pass into Getafe’s own third.
Then it was Christensen who pushed a good pass across the face of goal, finding Felix for the tap in.
They call this Champagne football.
Pretty move by Barca’s right side, plus a worthy shout of praise for Christensen’s run and eventual pass. All led to a goal that doubled Barca’s lead, giving them 2 inside of 55 minutes.
The action didn’t stop there either, as just 8 minutes later, another goal was scored by Barca and it was another clinical showing by Raphinha.
Raphinha and Frenkie combine for a goal
Frenkie De Jong utilized one of his infamous carries, zooming through the middle of the pitch without much opposition. Once Frenkie eventually met some opposition, he slid a pass to Gundogan, who then slid a deflected pass towards Raphinha.
Raphinha then dribbled around the keeper, settled down, then found the originating source of the chance in De Jong, who carefully put home a goal on an open net.
Once again, a thing of beauty from Barca.
We hadn’t seen this kind of football in months, and for it to come against Getafe — an opponent that are experts at disrupting play so things like this don’t happen — is nothing short of a surprise.
But Barca fans don’t care, 3 goals are 3 goals.
Fermin Lopez gets one last goal
There was one last goal, as it was Fermin Lopez who scored on an empty net from a saved Vitor Roque shot.
It gave Barca 4 for the day, giving the fans another view of the “FOURcelona” result we viewed so much of during Xavi’s first months as Barca coach.
Otherwise, it was a perfect finishing touch on a rather dominant performance.
Final word
Nothing much to say.
Dominant performance at such a good time, especially after the recent disappointments result wise. Getafe isn’t a good benchmark for progress, but if Xavi’s men can put together similar play moving forward — and covert their chances — they’ll find their mojo and make things pretty interesting domestically and in Europe.
But baby steps, baby steps.
Barca’s next match
Barca’s next match will be a big one, as they travel to the San Mamés to take on Athletic Club.
See you all then!
I’ve been a big time Barca fan since I was 14 years old. I love the club, the history, and the tradition that the club has built over its prestigious history. Forca Barca!
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