Pedri and Ferran free Barça from a mess

Pedri turned off the chaos. And Ferran released the evening that looked bad for Barça. In the last minutes of a thick game, the Barça team got rid of a serious problem, tormented as they are because they can’t find fluidity in their football, subjected to too many imbalances because it was difficult for them to break the resistance of Ledesma, the goalkeeper who kept the player on his feet. Cádiz in Montjuïc, a mountain to which 39,603 people leaned.

But it all begins and ends with a boy, who was fired with a thunderous ovation from the Olympic venue. It all starts with the impudence and audacity of a child –no, it is not an exaggeration because he is 16 years old, one month and one week-, who leaned Barça’s game to the right wing.

From there, with intelligence and creativity, that sweet left leg of Lamine Yamal became Barça’s great attack argument. It would be said that the only reason was the debut in Montjuïc –sunny afternoon, without wind, with the gray appearance of the Olympic temple, unable as the team to reconnect with its people. The culé, who presumes to be the best fans in the world, has deserted.

It’s hard to read. But that’s how it is. Only 17,550 subscribers subscribed to climb the mountain. It’s not on the other side of town either. It’s close, but it seems so far away that it becomes a worthy climb of Everest. And that shouldn’t be either.

Singular tactical drawing

Xavi, located in a hidden booth in the Olympic Stadium, was not happy at all. He had shaken up the lineup with a singular tactical model, betting on three central defenders (Koundé, Christensen and De Jong), without a specific right-back. Nor was he left-footed because Balde had the triple mission of left winger, interior and, of course, defense. Xavi had a fixed end (Lamine lived close to the lime on the right wing) and everything else was liquid, so liquid that it did not finish flowing.

He got stuck in attack, crashing into the feline hands of Conán Ledesma, capable of frustrating Lamine first and then Koundé. Although to the frustration, and a great one, the one felt by Roger Martí, the Cádiz striker, who took advantage of a rude defensive error by Balde to gallop across the Montjuïc meadow. Almost 50 meters. Too many meters. Too much time to think. He chewed the shot too much and when he realized it he ran into the endless body of Ter Stegen. The old Barça protected as always by the reliable German goal.

midfielders without fluency

Xavi filled the engine room with up to five midfielders (De Jong from behind, Oriol Romeu, Gündogan, Gavi and Pedri) to give dynamism to the circulation of the ball. But the ball traveled at the speed of the turtle.

There were no changes at halftime. Nor were solutions seen to unblock a Barça that was emitting signs of collapse. Not in Getafe. Not even on Montjuïc. It is difficult for him to attack, although he improved, it must be said, in the second half. It wasn’t too complicated either. Lamine crashed with Conan Ledesma, Oriol Romeu in front of the Cádiz defense and Pedri with the wood. At least, Xavi’s team was hungrier, needing to find at least a crust of bread. Something to put in your mouth.

And even Cádiz, well organized defensively, dared to reach Ter Stegen’s area with danger. First, Alcaraz (the ball went to the clouds); then Chris Ramos, whose dry and abrupt dribble sat down Christensen and spread terror in front of the German goalkeeper. This forced an urgent intervention by Xavi after detecting that his team was not improving, for which he made a double change: Abde to the field to be a pure winger and Ansu Fati moving freely up the attack front), dispensing with Balde, the only true side that was in the field. Who was left there? Well, Frankie. Yes, just as it sounds.

The Gundo-Pedri connection

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Barça was consumed and Xavi despaired, while Òscar, his brother and interim head coach, asked the players during hydration time to “not go crazy & rdquor; appealing to patience. Pedri drives and signs a slalom leaning on Gündogan to sign the repairing goal. The goal that unleashed collective joy on Montjuïc, in addition to spreading a message of solidarity to support its people in Tenerife, surrounded as it is by flames. That goal from Pedri turned off the climate of insecurity and concern that had taken over Barça, which ended with Eric García on the left back in a back line of four along with De Jong, Koundé and Sergi Roberto (right back).

The Barça team ended up trembling, collected, once again, in the old 1-0 format until Ferran Torres rebelled taking advantage of the direct game -Ter Stegen’s long kick, Lewandowski discharges, the former City striker runs- to sentence a warm and rough night with that second goal. Ferran is determined that every minute is gold. And so he takes it.