Barcelona survives in Anoeta thanks to Ter Stegen

It gave him peace of mind after two consecutive defeats and also allows him to Xavi stop the bleeding generated by Eintracht and Cádiz, even if he had to suffer a stormy night, full of suffering and tension, while defenses were falling (Araujo, Alves and Pique) due to injury leaving the azulgranas without a net.

But on the ledge, Ter Stegen’s left foot emerged first and then his providential right hand, united, it is fair to remember, to a Royal Society that cornered him in his area. But he shot so poorly that he could spend two nights playing without focusing well.

The game started with such speed that there was no time to blink. Thousands of fans filled the old Anoeta, now the Rea Arena. And much more through television, unable to get away from the screens because the Real, a brave, imaginative, orderly and, above all, interesting team, subjected Xavi’s Barça to stress as soon as the match began.

Only three minutes had passed, but it felt like half an hour into the game. Although the azulgranas, after a couple of absent-mindedness and absurd turnovers, recomposed themselves clinging to the talent of their offensive attacking trio: Dembele, Aubameyang and Ferran Torres.

The Frenchman hinted with a vertical gallop to the right, while the Valencian, who abandoned his role on the left side, appeared by surprise as the second center forward to assist the Gabonese in the 0-1. It all happened in just 11 minutes. Although, in reality, you can reduce and condense everything in just 10 seconds. From Dembélé’s shot at Remiro’s right post to ‘Auba”s goal, such a short period of time passed, without forgetting that that double play that served as a prologue for Barça to take advantage on the scoreboard was born in Gavi. A cunning young man.

He won an aerial duel prior to Dembélé’s shot, which repelled the wood. A smart young man who stole the ball from Real’s clueless defense to see Ferran’s previous unmarking, who was the true assistant of the goal and this will be recorded in the statistics. But the intellectual property of that necessary goal for Barça belongs to Gavi, forced to assume even more responsibilities due to the injury of pedri, which has practically said goodbye to the season. He had a lot of weight in the match, just like Frenkie de Jong.

A match where an oversight was a passport to suffering. And Xavi’s tactical innovation -he defended his team with a line of three made up of Araujo, Piqué and Jordi Alba- was subordinated to having embedded Alves in midfield.

But the night passed over the Brazilian, transformed into a right-handed midfielder, his old function as a side already forgotten. In less than a minute, Alves gave two balls to Real, which put the Barca coach’s heart to the test, proud of the defensive commitment exhibited by his starting central defenders: Piqué, who finished the first half after noticing discomfort at various times, and Araujo .

They were only thrown off at the last gasp of that opening 45 minutes when Isak showed that his aim was truly off. He shot with his right ankle and foolishly to the relief of Ter Stegen, while Barça showed Xavi that he had “desire and faith & rdquor; taking the pressure to the Real to the limit.

It was not an academic match. Not even bright. But there was soul and passion in every play. The Cádiz thing was past. Or it should be, as the technician demanded. At the end of the first half, the ball belonged more to Real (54% possession) than to Barcelona (46%). But Xavi’s team generated much more, sustained, who was going to tell him, on that defensive column that Piqué’s pride and Araujo’s claw injected.

Everything got tangled up as soon as the second half began because Araujo ended up injured, as did Jordi Alba. They were both lame. As also happened to Piqué. Barça became a field hospital, unable to understand what was happening, unable to understand what it needed to do. La Real had taken the ball from him in such a scandalous way that he did not go beyond the center of the field, surviving thanks to the totally deviated point of view of Isak first and Sorloth.

The Norwegian wasted two very clear chances, running into one with the left foot of Ter Stegen, who became a handball goalkeeper with a providential intervention. Full of intelligence to shorten the spaces for the Real forward and with the necessary firmness not to bend his body before time.

Barça, meanwhile, was still on the ropes. Without the ball, without personality, with his four starting defenders punished for the inconvenience and feeling, once again, unrecognizable because the Real team overwhelmed him with football, but without a shot in a match where Xavi lost three of his starting defenders. And the night was endless with 10 minutes of added time. In other words, 100 minutes in Anoeta for Barça torture that was shrinking balls from all corners of the area. Here there was no longer any style book. It was worth everything to sustain a triumph that was a great treasure.

Real society: Remiro (5), Zaldúa (4), Zubeldía (5), Le Normand (5), Diego Rico (6), Zubimendi (6), Rafinha (4), Merino (6), Januzaj (5), Sorloth (4) and Isaac (4).

Trainer: Imanol Sheriff (5)

Changes: Gorosabel (sc) by Zaldúa (d. 81); Guridi (sc), Rafinha (d. 81); Ander Martin (sc) for Januzaj (d. 86); Portu (sc) by Isak (m. 86): Guevara (sc) by Zubimendi (m. 90 + 3).

Barca: Ter Stegen (9), Alves (4), Araujo (6), Piqué (7), Jordi Alba (5), Gavi (6), Busquets (7), Frenkie de Jong (6), Dembélé (5), Aubameyang (7) and Ferran Torres (4).

Trainer: Xavi Hernandez (5)

Changes: Eric Garcia (5) by Araujo (m. 54); Dest (6) by Alves (m. 65); Lenglet (sc) by Piqué (d. 82); Luuk de Jong (sc) by Aubameyang (d. 82)

goals: 0-1, Aubameyang (d. 11)

Referee: From Cerro Grande ( ), Madrid.

Yellow cards: Araujo (d. 33); Gavi (d. 85), Le Normand (d. 90+2)

Stadium: Reale Arena of San Sebastian.