He scored early (at 45 seconds) and conceded quickly (minute 6) to Barça, who reacted devastatingly with the entry of Ansu Fati.
Ter Stegen held the team until the forwards found Remiro’s goal.
Barça hasn’t lost as a visitor (10 wins and five draws) since Xavi became coach and the charm continued at Anoeta, demanding as the team was so that Madrid wouldn’t leave all of a sudden. The victory over Real came through the gunpowder that he has bought this summer, still unfinished.
Robert Lewandowski celebrated his 34th birthday with two goals, and the Pole was accompanied by another signing: Ousmane Dembélé, who left and returned from the Camp Nou in the short space of two weeks. Barça rambled with a draw that was beginning to be dangerous, Ansu Fati and Raphinha appeared and the San Sebastian defense was broken, broken by the blood transfusion that the forward received.
Xavi sought an immediate reaction to the Rayo fiasco with three new additions to the line-up and, above all, a change in the system. He shook Barça, effectively, vertically on the field and accelerated in the game. The team played in a hurry, and it is already known that the frontier towards precipitation is very tenuous. He continually crossed it until he brought down the Real.
For the goalkeeper captain
He scored early and Barça quickly conceded, who never calmed down because the scoreboard did not satisfy them. Barely five minutes enjoyed the momentary victory, with which he always managed the duel from the tie, clearly insufficient even though it allowed Xavi’s unbeaten streak as a visitor to be extended. This time, thanks to Ter Stegen, who unleashed three magnificent swipes on very difficult shots with the captain’s armband.
Frenkie de Jong was chosen to replace Busquets despite the coach hinting that Pjanic was the fittest replacement he had seen in pre-season. Frenkie’s fragility was soon noticed with the loss that led to a draw. The unforgivable loss of him, though harassed by two rivals, was disastrous.
Bucket’s surprise
Quite the opposite of the surprising appearance of Balde, who before the first minute was up, starred in a tremendous ride, reminiscent of the youngster Alba, and his erratic shot fell at the feet of Lewandowski, who did not spare. He did well. His fleeting reaction caught the Donostia centrals off guard. It was one of the few times that the Pole knew how to get rid of the constant grabs of Zubeldia and Le Normand.
headless Barça stood up. Without any of the four captains, three sitting on the bench (Piqué, Alba and Sergi Roberto) and one on the sofa at home, suspended (Busquets). The regeneration that Xavi intends was visualized in the line-up, in the absence of subsequent confirmations throughout the season. The absence of Busquets was circumstantial. Those of Piqué and Sergi Roberto point to systematics.
That Barça, eager to be liked, tried to do it through a retouch in the drawing. Balde surprised Real with his exits down the left wing, abandoning a defense made up of three central defenders, acting as a lane and expelling Ferran Torres towards the interior of the field to take advantage of the spaces created by Lewandowski. Ansu Fati knew how to interpret them better, who changed the team even more: he brought imagination and success to the attack and they all ended up shooting a Remiro who was living more placidly than Ter Stegen.
Data sheet
Real society: Remiro (6); Aritz (5), Zubeldia (6), Le Normand (5), Aihen (6); Brais (5), Zubimendi (6), Merino (8); Silva (7), Isak (6), Take (6).
Technical: Imanol Sheriff (7).
Changes: Navarro (5) for Isak (m. 69); Turrientes (5) by Silva (m. 69); Cho (5) by Take (d. 69); Gorosabel (sc) by Aritz (d. 78); Karrikaburu (sc) by Merino (d. 79).
FC Barcelona: Ter Stegen (9); Araujo (5), Christensen (6), Eric (6), De Jong (5); Gavi (5), Pedri (6), Bucket (7); Dembele (7), Lewandowski (10), Ferran (5).
Coach: Xavi Hernandez (7).
Changes: Raphinha (6) by Balde (m. 63); Ansu (9) by Ferran (m. 63); Alba (5) by Dembélé (m. 72); Roberto (sc) by Gavi (d. 84); Kessié (sc) by De Jong (d. 84).
Goals: 0-1 (m.1), Lewandowski first hits a bad shot from Balde. 1-1 (m. 6), Isak takes advantage of a rebound from Eric to finish off; 1-2 (m. 66), Dembélé shoots low and crossed; 1-3 (m. 69), Lewandowski takes advantage of an assist from Ansu; 1-4 (m. 79), Ansu Fati stands alone against Remiro.
Referee: Munuera Montero (6), Andalusian.
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Cards: Elustondo (d. 21), Le Normand (d. 41), Araujo (d. 51).
Stadium: Anoeta.Spectators: 36,201.