After being injured for about six weeks, Memphis finally made his comeback. The Orange international jumped in eagerly and was rewarded for that. He shot at close range. Barcelona have finished third in La Liga, having played one game less than Real Betis, now within reach.
It started with his trio of Dutchmen on the couch. Because trainer Xavi rotates with his midfielders, Frenkie de Jong did not start after his great performance against Napoli last Thursday. Luuk de Jong was the supersub as usual and there was the return of Memphis to the match selection. The Orange international has been out with a hamstring injury since the supercup match with Real Madrid on January 12 and was forced to watch seven games.
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Sergiño Dest did start, the American international was the left back, replacing Jordi Alba. On the right, Dani Alves returned after a four-game absence. After his red card against Atlético Madrid, he missed the duels with Espanyol and Valencia. He had to miss the Europa League matches with Napoli because he is not registered for that tournament.
opening goal
Barcelona had hardly anything to fear from Athletic de Bilbao in the first half. It wasn’t as impressive as Thursday against Napoli, but Barca were in control and became the most dangerous themselves. In the 18th minute, Gavi shot high with his left leg, when he received a ball from Ferran Torres at the penalty spot. Torres himself shot the fists of keeper Unai Simon after more than half an hour of play, after he received the ball from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. This was preceded by a brilliant rush by Adama Traoré. The power house shook off a quartet of defenders at full speed and with tremendous force from about the halfway line to the penalty area.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang celebrates his goal with a somersault.
Ⓒ ANP/HH
Eight minutes before half time, Barcelona took the lead. Again it was Aubameyang. The striker from Gabon has already scored for the third time in a row and is currently the extra goalscorer that the club missed before the winter break. Like an acrobat, he worked the rebound after Gerard Piqué headed the crossbar.
Frenkie falls in
Xavi always changes approximately on the hour of play. For example, Frenkie de Jong sometimes goes to the side around the 60th minute and this time he came within the lines after 65 minutes. Right before his substitute, midfielder Ferran Torres missed a huge chance to make it 2-0. After a slip in the back with the Basques, he could only pass goalie Unai Simon, but he shot at him.
‘Frenkie’ immediately bridged about seventy meters three minutes later, to give the left to Aubameyang, but the striker’s header lacked power for the 2-0. The decision came five minutes later. Ousmane Dembélé, who came in at the same time as De Jong, blasted the 2-0 into the roof of the goal through the bottom of the bar. From an almost impossible angle. Suddenly, Camp Nou exploded for Dembélé, who had once again welcomed him with stinging flutes on his first ball contacts. He has been persona non grata since he only wanted to renew his contract for an astronomical sum of 40 million euros. And so will leave on a free transfer next summer. He celebrated the goal with his teammates.
Dutch goals
Not much later, the Camp Nou went crazy again, because Pedri gated his opponent Balenziaga on the sidelines in a great way. Every now and then it’s time for delights in Barcelona, which is increasingly able to dominate its matches. Memphis can work towards its top form in relative peace, now that the team has many more weapons at its disposal than just the whims or goals of the international of Orange. Luuk de Jong also got another five minutes of playing time and was again received with loud cheers in Camp Nou, as Memphis was previously part of.
View the standings, results and the program in La Liga here.