Before Barca’s season defining Champions League match against Napoli next week, Barca had some business to attend to.
Mallorca was coming to town, trying to scrape some points away from a Barca squad that’s dealing with an injury crisis at the moment. To prevent this, Xavi and his staff would have to be a bit creative in their lineup decisions, sliding players into roles they haven’t really played in much if at all.
We’d see if the forced gamble would work, as Barca need to build some more momentum before their upcoming match against Napoli.
So let’s see how they did.
First half
The first half was a snoozefest.
I won’t sugarcoat it or anything, it was an absolute snoozefest that could’ve put anyone to sleep in a matter of minutes. It was kinda of expected though, due to a few significant reasons.
For starters, Barca are without one of their most creative midfield profiles in Pedri and they’re without their best space penetrator in Frenkie De Jong. This has forced Barca to get a little creative with their midfield setup, like tonight when they deployed Raphinha in more of a central, but not so central role to offset the number and quality difference.
Second, Mallorca was dead set on playing a nasty 5 at the back set up with a deep block out of possession. Combine Barca’s problems against low blocks and the lack of personnel to break those down, you get the first half we witnessed.
Defensively Barca held strong, staying connected whenever Mallorca tried to catch Barca off guard whenever they went on the counter. The most impressive part of the defensive outlook came from Pau Cubarsi though, who was clearly outmatched physically against Mallorca’s forward line, but he stayed strong and put forth a very good effort.
Other than that, there wasn’t much to add.
Except for a missed penalty by Ilkay Gundogan, which I probably should’ve mentioned earlier, but alas.
Let’s see if the second half gave us anything different.
Second half
The second half saw Barca play with a bit more energy in the attack.
Maybe the end quality wasn’t there, but the players provided more effort, in part leading to a more intense product on the field. That same increased energy level led to a half decent chance for Barca, with Lamine Yamal hitting the bar after cutting back onto his left foot and shooting.
The score was still 0-0, but Barca was building a bit, little by little.
Their efforts were rewarded in the 73rd minute, when Yamal gave Barca the lead.
Yamal saves Barca
The young star started by receiving a difficult looking pass from Robert Lewandowski. Yamal then dribbled into Mallorca’s penalty area, before cutting back and looking for a shot with his favored left foot.
Yamal then lifted his left footed shot, curling it perfectly into the top left corner, leaving Mallorca’s keeper glued to his spot while watching the shot go in.
1-0 Barca.
It’s truly ridiculous what this 16 year old boy is doing, especially at a club as prestigious as Barcelona. Week in and week out, delivering quality performances, sometimes even looking like the best player on the field.
And even when he’s not consistently excellent, he still can pull moments of brilliance out of his locker like these, and give Barca fans even more hope for the future.
He’s truly one of a kind.
Now we can only hope he stays healthy and his development is taken extremely seriously by the club, physically and mentally.
After this goal, there wasn’t much action, as Barca tried to maintain their one goal lead and secure the win. And that they did, winning 1-0 and providing the squad with some optimism heading into their match this upcoming week.
Final word
Not much to say.
What I will say though, is thank God Lamine Yamal is on this team and is delivering week after week. Without his difference making, I don’t know where this club would be this season.
And that’s saying something.
Barca’s next match
Barca’s next match will be on Tuesday night, as they welcome Napoli to the Montjuic. It’ll be the second leg of their Champions League Ro16 tie.
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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