Lamine, already widely seen in the 18-year-old scorer, to resolve a match that did not seem to have an end due to its long and painful nature in San Mamés. The winger manages himself on the field for the luck of Barça while the coach rotates and distributes the efforts of the other players due to the demands of a calendar that on Tuesday holds a high-voltage event in Newcastle. Lamine’s goal was a blessing due to the set of errors committed by two teams penalized by the hangover of the Cup. It was difficult for the Catalans to certify their usual victory over the red and whites since the arrival of Flick. The goal score is eloquent: 17 to 1 with the goal from Lamine, Barcelona’s top scorer with 19.
0
Unai Simón, Aymeric Laporte, Andoni Gorosabel, Adama Boiro, Dani Vivian, Mikel Jauregizar (Eder García, min. 73), Selton Sánchez (Oihan Sancet, min. 45), Alejandro Rego (Mikel Vesga, min. 68), Unai Gómez (Robert Navarro, min. 10), Alex Berenguer and Iñaki Williams (Gorka Cruzeta, min. 68)
1
Joan García, Eric García, Gerard Martín, João Cancelo, Pau Cubarsí, Marc Casadó (Ronald Araujo, min. 77), Marc Bernal (Pedri, min. 45), Dani Olmo (Fermín López, min. 61), Lamine Yamal, Marcus Rashford (Raphinha, min. 61) y Ferran Torres (Robert Lewandowski, min. 61)
Goals
0-1 min. 67: Lamine Yamal
Referee José Luis Munuera Montero
yellow cards
Alejandro Rego (min. 49), Cubarsí (min. 56), Daniel Vivian (min. 92)
The match began with a shot by Cancelo against the crossbar of his teammate Joan García’s goal when he was trying to take out a cross from Berenguer. The Blaugranas played with a very new defense – Eric, Cubarsí, Gerard Martín and Cancelo -, the starting full-backs Koundé and Balde were injured, and Athletic’s arrivals followed one another due to Barça’s permeability. You cannot play as well as in the last games, resolved and Villarreal, when the players are not the same and those who are missing are as capital as Raphinha, Fermín and Pedri, three individuals that condition the collective functioning of Barça. Nobody sets the timing and rhythm more than Pedri.
Athletic were just as permissive, conditioned at the start by the absence of starters like Nico Williams and a little later by the injury of Unai Gómez, and not very forceful in defense, very focused on pulling the offside line to combat the attacks of the Barça forwards and midfielders, especially Ferran and Olmo. The alternative was to rely on Rashford’s depth and Bernal’s good ball handling. The Barça guarantee remained in the hands of La Masia and especially . Waiting to improve precision, Barça worked hard on innocuous possession and discreet pressure on Athletic’s court.
They were accused of the matches played on Tuesday and Wednesday against Atlético and Real. The match had little rhythm, there was a lack of fluidity in the game, the ball losses followed one another and there were no chances or plays that were worth it, once the initial gas was over, surely caused by the strength that San Mamés always gives off. No Barça player was capable of unbalancing or generating space in the Athletic area. Given the lack of intensity, Flick sent Fermín and Araujo to warm up. The goalkeepers anticipated, Joan García to Selton and Unai to Cancelo, while Lamine did not come into play.
Such insipid football from Athletic and Barça in La Catedral was not remembered. Only a backheel from Ferran in a corner kick on the stroke of half-time gave an act of faith of the attacking presence of Flick’s team. The coaches intervened in the half and began to bring on their best players like Pedri and Sancet. The Barça game was located in Athletic’s field in the same way that Sancet’s trigger was activated, reduced on two occasions by Joan García, Barça’s safest until then. Opening the match, with Athletic much improved, Flick turned to Raphinha, Fermín and Lewandowski. The Barça passing line was choppy while the energy of Valverde’s oxygenated team increased.
In the absence of collective play, the Pedri-Lamine association appeared. The Tenerife native starred in a long drive that ended with a pass to the right side for the winger, who controlled the ball, touched it a couple of times while Adama fell and crossed it with his classic left-footed thread to Unai Simón’s right post. Lamine and Pedri called for calm with 0-1 while Valverde rushed the changes to liven up Athletic’s game.
Barça backed down badly, unable to hold the ball, erratic and subdued by the vigor of Athletic. The red and whites’ shots, however, did not hit the target, luckily for Barça, who were tired and speculative, nothing like their usual image, which leaves them four points ahead at the top of the League.
