Ahead of their Copa Del Rey semifinal against Atletico Madrid, Barca had an away date with Las Palmas.
Let’s see how Barca fared.
First half
The first half was a combination of what ifs and frustration for Barca.
On one hand, they created more than a handful of half chances that could’ve evolved into full on chances, but things just weren’t clicking in the end. The more frustrating development though, was the lack of focus.
More so, the lack of technical excellence we’ve seen plenty times from this squad before.
You can’t expect every game to be solid, but in the first half errant touches were aplenty and misplaced passes were a big time theme. It ruined the flow of the attack and was one of the reason those half chances I previously mentioned, stayed as half chances and didn’t evolve into legit ones.
As a result, Barca were struggling to show a consistent amount of danger, leaving them with plenty of regrets and a 0-0 draw as we headed into halftime.
They had another 45 minutes to settle things down, but the first half showing wasn’t all that great and a lot of things needed to be changed in the second half.
Let’s see how Barca fared.
Second half
The second half was, by all accounts, better for Barca.
The reason for that, was probably the inclusion of Dani Olmo. After halftime, Hansi Flick took off Fermin Lopez and inserted Olmo into the game, giving Barca a more mobile and dangerous midfield threat in the attack and in the build up as well.
The results were almost instant, well maybe not, but the results were indeed positive.
Because in the 63rd minute, it was Olmo who gave Barca the lead. All the action started with Lamine Yamal, who dribbled down the right central portion of Las Palmas’s own third, before firing a pass into the feet of Olmo. Olmo then switched from his right foot to his left foot and eventually fired a rocket into the roof of the net.
Gorgeous goal from Olmo, but more importantly, another late moment of magic from Olmo leading to a Barca goal,
He’s simply invaluable at the moment.
After this, there were some shenanigans. Late in the game, there was a very long penalty check for a potential handball on Eric Garcia. In the end there wasn’t a penalty due to a Las Palmas player being offsides, but it was still a lengthy review and one that could’ve gone totally wrong.
Barca scored another goal late courtesy of Ferran Torres, with Raphinha giving out the assist due to a smart cut pass.
I’d post a video but I can’t.
This goal basically killed off the game and gave Barca a hard fought 2-0 win.
Final word
That was a weird experience. Lamine Yamal didn’t have his best game, the entire squad looked out of touch technically, and half chances remained the constant for a bit.
However the win was won in the end and now Barca can comfortably watch Madrid tomorrow in hopes of them dropping points to Girona.
On to the next one.
Barca’s next match
Barca’s next match will be on Tuesday against Atletico Madrid. It’ll be the first leg of their Copa Del Rey semifinal matchup.
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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