Liga: Mallorca 0-1 Barcelona. L. De Jong decides, Xavi climbs to 5th place

Halfway point -1 from the Champions area and -2 from third place. For Barcelona this season it is a bargain: the defeats of Betis and Rayo, combined like Real Sociedad, propel the Catalans into fifth position after halfway through La Liga. Result obtained with a painful victory in Mallorca in the last Sunday match, despite 14 unavailable between Covid, injuries and suspensions.

How many absences

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Before the kick-off the stage is all for a double ex of the important ones: Samuel Eto’o enjoys the ovation of the Majorcan public and then greets Xavi, companion of many triumphs at the Camp Nou with a hug. Xavi who a few hours after the match had used harsh words to comment on the La Liga’s decision not to postpone the game, despite the many cases of Covid (8, with the last minute availability of Lenglet and Umtiti) among the Blaugrana: “It will be a match decaffeinated “, the metaphor used to convey the idea. Coffee or not, his starting eleven for the evening does not even reach 25 years of average: on the sides of the center forward Luuk De Jong there are Jutglà and Akhomach, the Mingueza-Piqué-Garcia-Araujo defensive line is made up of four central. And the free-kicks towards the goal Piqué kicks, to say how Barça is these days.

Blaze De Jong

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But the game’s imprint is there, Xavi’s ideas are seeds that will sprout, the first half in Mallorca is dominated, even without memorable flare-ups. For the Blaugrana, to unlock the game, Luuk De Jong’s acceleration in the quarter of an hour before the break is enough: a pole at the invitation of Jutglà, a crossbar hit with a splendid flying turn and finally the header of 1 -0 in the 44th minute, also thanks to a cross drawn by Mingueza. It will be the goal-match, and curiously it is the striker for sale who has the least to do with Xavi’s football philosophy.

Ter Stegen decisive

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Recovery is even less fluid, also because it is Mallorca who have to make the race to recover, trying to put at least one more point between themselves and the relegation zone (it is at +4). Barça accepts the fight, but trembles in the final on the inactive balls, risking the insult in full recovery: Jaume Costa releases himself and finds the great serve on the fly, Ter Stegen puts his arm in it with a prodigious intervention and seals the eighth Blaugrana success in this Liga. Encouraging sign, to start 2022 with a little optimism.