Match Points: Season starts well for Barça vs Real Sociedad (4-2)

If there’s one word that can relate best to the preseason of FC Barcelona, it was uncertainty. The club’s financial and structure situation, the difficulty to register new players, and of course the departure of Leo Messi. However, a day before the debut match vs Real Sociedad, Pique “Saved the day” and Barça by reducing his salary. Therefore, it was only natural that he would get much of the praises. But him scoring the first goal of the season made it even better.

Here are the main points that I wanted to address after the win of Barça in the league debut vs Real Sociedad.

Positive Points

We won the game, and it’s only natural that we’ll start with the positive takes. Overall, it was a great performance for the Blaugrana players. Moreover, it looked like they had something to prove with the absence of the GOAT. Will it last for long? Time will tell.

• With only 20k fans in the gigantic Camp Nou, it looked pretty empty. But still, 1 and a half years later, the fans were back in the stadium. It was great to finally hear true fans in the stadium. Moreover, I love the gesture of chanting Messi’s name in the 10th minute. I hope the fans will keep on doing it at least for a while.
• Martin Braithwaite, ladies and Gentelmen. A great game for the Danish striker, with 2 goals and an assist. I know many see him as a Barça player “by mistake”, but great performance vs Real Sociedad. I think that if they could, the club would sell him and buy a new striker. But with the lack of funds, he can be a useful player. Not the most talented player out there, but one that works hard and fights for every ball. Moreover, he can score goals, and that’s always great. With Ansu Fati, Aguero and Dembele back in November, we might see him leave in January. But meanwhile? He’s a useful player.
• Eric and Memphis had a great league debut for Barça in the win vs Real Sociedad. Eric only trained with the club for few days, and already looked like he’s there for years. That’s the beauty of La Masia players. Memphis took the responsibility, and although he didn’t score, he played really well.

Negative Points

Naturally, the game wasn’t perfect, and there were some negative points that I wanted to talk about. Overall, there was a weird feeling to see the lineup without Leo Messi. But there are some other talking points.

• Koeman, oh Koeman. Why would you sub in Lenglet in the last minutes of the game? It worked yesterday, but I believe every fan felt the chill when the French Center Back came in. With so many mistakes literally costing our league last season, it was only natural. I don’t wanna see us playing with 3 at the back anymore, even if it’s to defend the scoresheet.
• Emerson Royal looked bad in his debut yesterday. He made a clear mistake that cost us the first goal of Real Sociedad. But mistakes can happen, and we will give him time to settle in.

The fast 2 goals Barça conceded in the last period of the game vs Real Sociedad is a warning sign. We won but it was almost a ‘Classic Barça’ ending of us playing well and then somehow ruin for ourselves.

Bottom Line

Overall, great performance of Barça in the league debut vs Real Sociedad. The Blaugrana players looked sharp and with great ambition. Moreover, it felt great to see Nico Gonzalez debut in the league. This guy has a lot to grow, but his potential is enormous.

Personally, I came to the new season without great expectations, because it was always going to be a bit of a ‘Trauma’ to lose Leo Messi. But him leaving now unexpectantly made it even worse. Time will tell if the team can overcome it and win something this season.

Next Saturday FC Barcelona will face Athletic Bilbao Away (In Spain? Tickets here). This will be another great test to check the current situation in the club’s dressing room. But remember – You don’t win a title in August (Besides the Gamper trophy)

Marco