Resignation in San Mames – AS.com

Barcelona missed a golden opportunity in Bilbao to take part in La Liga and went no further than a 0-0 draw with Athletic, displaying a compliance that is very difficult to justify. It’s possible to draw with La Catedral, but by doing it the way Blaugrana’s team did, given what was at stake, it feels like the Catalan side are looking more in the rearview mirror than forward. It’s true that Injuries to De Jong and Pedri They changed the plan, but it is also true that the plan did not go very well.

Barcelona is still in a meaningless zone where it is unknown what it wants to be when it grows up.. This lack of definition is perhaps the worst thing that can happen. Against an Athletic team that had suffered many losses and had just played in the semi-finals of the Cup, the Blaugrana missed the train of ambition and abandoned any option to achieve greater goals. It seems the main thing is to finish in the top four.

After the cup euphoria and sanctions, Valverde shook up the team and made seven changes compared to the eleven that defeated Atlético on Thursday. The coach sought intensity at all costs and placed Beñat and Imanol in the full-back positions, and chose Vesga and Dani Garcia in midfield. For his part, Xavi wanted to match the physical stakes by keeping Raphinha in the eleven and reserving Lamine from the start, and once again selected Kubarsi in the starting XI.

The staging of the match was beneficial for Barcelona, ​​which at least avoided the usual onslaught of the Lions, but Xavi’s men immediately returned to a more even level. Without a break, without long possession of the ball and without dominating the game, the Blaugrana team began to lose individual matches to the Athletic team, which won without having played a great game.. The match was a meaningless duel in which no one was capable of making four passes in a row.

If we add to this that Barca lost two supposedly key midfielders to injury, such as Frenkie de Jong in the 23rd minute and Pedri 20 minutes later, this could serve as an excuse for the poor performance of the Barcelona team, which seemed , did not realize He took advantage of this opportunity after the results of Madrid in Valencia and Girona in Mallorca. But To be honest, Barça was playing poorly even before the injuries.

. Given the injuries to the Dutchman and the Canarian, Xavi had to change the game plan and bring in Fermin and Lamin Yamal.

The first part was terrible. Nothing of note happened other than injuries and a new yellow card for Xavi for protesting, and only Cancelo created a dangerous chance with a shot from almost the center of the field, which was saved by Unai Simon and Yeraj.. Valverde had dynamite on the bench that could change the course of the game, while Xavi had only one window for change.

Both coaches supported their tactical move with what happened on the pitch, where Athletic was becoming great against a Barça who were already beginning to rely on Kubarsi in defense and laminà up front. It was Valverde who made the first move and brought Ruiz de Galarreta and Sunset onto the field half an hour before the end of the game. The cavalry entered. Faced with a local siege, the only one who seemed to want to win the game.