The provoked young man even played his part, but defensive failures cost two precious points and left the team out of the G-8 – teams that go straight to the round of 16
He felt firsthand, in the classic against , that provocation in today’s football is not a good trick. Los Merengues lost 2-1 and the young man was still involved in confusion, leaving ironically. This Wednesday, the Catalan team visited the league and the Belgian fans decided to provoke the star all the time. Result: the attacking prodigy was the highlight of the 3-3 draw, in which his team lost three times on a disastrous defensive night and he contributed to the last two goals, avoiding the embarrassment. Provoked all the time, Yamal missed a golden opportunity when the team lost 2-1, but he didn’t lose heart and, in a beautiful individual move, with enormous personality, he left everything equal on the scoreboard and celebrated by displaying the Barcelona symbol to the rival fans.
Brugge still scored the third, but the star appeared again at 3-3, when he saw his cross deflect off Tzolis and end up in the net – he asked the referee for the goal. Without Raphinha, injured, and with Lewandowski on the bench – he came on late –, Barcelona’s devastating attack from last season was left solely dependent on Lamine Yamal’s individual plays. The provoked young man even played his part, but the defensive failures cost two precious points and left the team out of the G-8 – teams that go straight to the round of 16.
Even at home, the Belgians adopted a defensive posture, with lines withdrawn and only exploiting counterattacks. After five minutes, they managed to put together a good plot that culminated in Forbs crossing from the right and sending it into Tresoldi’s net. VAR validated the adjusted bid. The deafening celebration of the fans that filled the Jan Breydel stadium, however, lasted very little and with a similar move from the Spanish. Barcelona escaped on the right and Fermin López, after looking into the area, sent it into the feet of Ferran Torres, who equalized at seven. Quick reaction to avoid pressure.
But Barcelona lacked organization. And the open and messy defense, with everyone up front looking for the turn, became an invitation for high-speed Belgian plays. And that’s how the second goal came. The Catalan attack lost the ball in front and with first touches, Forbs came face to face with Szczesny and chose the corner to put Brugge back in control of the scoreboard.
Yamal, whooped with every touch of the ball, appeared to give a good pass to Koundé, who stopped at the crossbar. The boy ‘entered’ the match and started lining up markers in great individual plays without completion from his teammates. In a great pass for Ferran, he saw the attacker send it out and the disadvantage remained until rest.
The second half started open and with goalkeepers standing out in the first minutes. Szczesny saved Barcelona in another quick move by Brugge and saw Yamal miss a golden chance when he shot over Jackers. The second chance, however, was not wasted. He lined up two, received it from Fermín and left everything the same, provoking the fans.
Right in front, Barcelona repeated their terrible defensive positioning and this time they were the ones who didn’t have time to celebrate. Shortly after equality, Forbs received another long throw and scored the third with a beautiful cavadinha. The number 9 even tried to take a penalty and almost fooled the referee, who noted the foul. VAR canceled the move.
Without ever giving in, Barcelona sought a third equalizer in Brugge. And again in Lamine Yamal’s move. The attacker tried to cross into the area, the ball deflected off Tzolis and ended up with an own goal. The night was not vexatious only because the VAR canceled the home team’s fourth, in stoppage time, due to a foul on Szczesny, who tried to dribble the attacker and ended up losing the ball with a foul.
The Champions League returns in three weeks, after the Fifa Data break, and Barcelona will have a tough commitment at home: they host world champion Chelsea, who are also not competing well and both will need to respond in the giant duel.
Other results:
Qarabag 2 x 2 Chelsea
Pafos 1 x 0 Villarreal
Ajax 0 x 3 Galatasaray
Benfica 0 x 1 Bayer Leverkusen
Inter Milan 2 x 1 Kairat Almaty
Manchester City 4 x 1 Borussia Dortmund
Olympic of Marseille 0 x 1
Newcastle 2 x 0 Athletic de Bilbao
*With information from Estadão Conteúdo
Published by Fernando Keller
