A balm after the umpteenth scare. A necessary relief after so many doubts. A soothing for a delicate moment that was about to be more so. Barcelona, ??far from being merciless and shaking off the ghosts, had two faces in Salamanca. They suffered in the first half and finished in the second without much fanfare, not even on a Primera RFEF field. Four years ago, Madrid played in the Cup against Unionistas – not yet at the Reina Sofía, but on the humble Helmántico courts – and appeared with Bale, Vinícius and Benzema. Between the Welshman and Brahim they solved the tie. This Thursday, Barça did not go through João Félix, the starter, nor Lewandowski, who came to the rescue, nor Vitor Roque, who played the last ten minutes. Those who kept Xavi’s team in the Cup were two defenders, Koundé and Balde, both highly criticized this season, who imposed logic in the second half. And they gave Barcelona a lime blossom to drink to calm their spirits.
Because the start didn’t look good at all. The best thing for Barcelona was the result at half-time. Because Ferran Torres, almost in the last play, managed to tie on a counterattack. From a corner against, Barça made it 1-1.
The Unionistas were betrayed by their desire to see up close, because they were, the possibility of making the match even more complicated for the League champion. However, from a possible 2-0 it went to a draw.
Balde’s back was a highway for the locals, who just after moving forward reached the front again but Tur, forced, could barely aim. The Unionistas realized the vein they had there and Rastrojo stood powerfully on the wing but his shot found a response, this time, from Iñaki Peña, who sent it for a corner.
In that momentum of the Salamanca they played a trick on them because they closed badly. The clearance fell to João Félix, who with his back turned and sent a pass into space for the career of Ferran Torres, who had time to run, prepare the ball and cross it from below before the departure of Iván Martínez.
The little boy’s ambition cost him dearly against the big one. It was the second time that the discontinued Portuguese appeared in a first part in which he was disconnected once again. That goal, celebrated by the Valencian with vindication, fixed the mess of a frustrating game.
Xavi’s men attacked slowly, handling the ball, without ideas or the ability to surprise. And when they wanted to accelerate they were not very precise. On the right wing, Ferran and Sergi Roberto kept opening their arms to ask each other for the ball differently than how they had received it from the other. In the midfield, Fermín and João Félix did not understand each other either. And Marc Guiu, the goal boy, who was making his debut as a starter, this time he could not materialize the great opportunity he had. Because the youth had it. Of legal age since January 4, he is one of those who looks for luck and finds it in the area, an opportunistic goal hunter. He smells danger, that’s why he stretched out in a foreshortened position to finish off a lateral cross curled in by João Félix from the left. Little else was seen of the nine.
Because Barça’s first half was poor. He entered the field badly (it is not new, like in the last classic) and Losada could have scored before the first minute but, in front of Iñaki Peña, he shot just past the post. It got worse when Álvaro Gómez on the right did take advantage of the defensive passivity to hook a volley into a Serrano cross from the left. The best thing for his interests was the end, when he tied perhaps without deserving it.
In the second half, in which Cubarsí made his debut, Barcelona saw the wolf’s ears and went out to try to resolve it without having to go to penalties, where Unionistas defeated Villarreal. And he even pressed the accelerator when Xavi called Lewandowski, Gündogan and Pedri, the three heavyweights that he had reserved.
But it was not the forwards or the stars who turned the score around, but rather two defenders, unexpected heroes. The misfortune of the modest one meant that while Unionistas was playing at a disadvantage because Losada was being treated on the sideline for bleeding after a collision with Iñaki Peña, Koundé suffered whiplash. Nobody covered the center back who didn’t think about it and scored with a good missile from outside the area.
Without time to react, the Unionistas’ illusion was shattered when Balde snuck as far as he wanted and took an unstoppable left-footed shot from his sleeve. A Barcelona specialist in getting complicated will be in the hype while the Unionistas won the applause and recognition of their people. They are not under suspicion.
Unionists: Ivan Martinez, Erik Ruiz, Ramiro, C. Gimenez, Ekaitz Jimenez (Jon Rojo 60, Alvaro Gomez, Tur, Adri Gomez (Nespral 60), Serrano (Villar 46), Rastrojo (Slavy 60) and Losada (Teijeira 90)
Coach: Dani Ponz
Barcelona: Iñaki Peña, Sergi Roberto, Koundé, Christensen (Cubarsí 46), Balde, Oriol Romeu, De Jong, Fermín (Pedri 61), Ferran Torres (Vitor Roque 82), João Félix (Gündogan 61) and Marc Guiu (Lewandowski 61 )
Coach: Xavi Hernández
Stadium: Reina Sofía (6,246 spectators)
Referee: Hernández Maeso (c. Extremadura)
Cards: Yellow for Ekaitz Jiménez, Guiu, Cubarsí and Carlos Giménez
Goals: 1-0 Álvaro Gómez (31), 1-1 Ferran Torres (45), 1-2 Koundé (69), 1-3 Balde (73).
