With a solitary goal from Raphinha, Barça achieved a victory as deserved as it was worked. Deserved because he had plenty of chances to score a bigger score. And it was hard because until the end he couldn’t call the match over and he even ended up asking for the time. With this victory, Xavi’s team continues on the good path it had before the national team break and puts pressure on Madrid. The Barcelona fans are five points behind the leader, who hosts Athletic this Sunday. The Blaugrana victory was not at all easy despite the fact that Las Palmas played with one less than an hour due to the fair expulsion of their goalkeeper Valles.
The match began with a happy rhythm and with two teams that took care of the ball as if it were a treasure. Advanced pressure from both teams, defensive lines almost in the opposite field and a great desire to attack. It is not in vain that Barça and Las Palmas are the teams with the most ball possession in the championship, and that was noticeable from the beginning. An encouraging outlook for the show and also for the Blaugrana interests as there was mobility, space and many options to attack the depth. Xavi watched him from the stands as he served his first game of suspension. The coach decreed the return of Cancelo, the protection of Araújo to bring on Iñigo Martínez and the maintenance of Lewandowski in the eleven, despite the fact that the Pole had just played until an extra time with his national team.
Under persistent rain and annoying wind, Barça immediately got to work. The goal was sniffed out. Raphinha struck with determination because when there is a field to run, the Brazilian is a much more productive footballer, Lewandowski asked for it incessantly and both the defenders and the interiors raised their heads and pursued the decisive assist. Barcelona lacked a point of calm and had a bit of haste to spare but the intentions were good and the 1-0 could fall at any moment. Lewandowski could have done it after a Koeman-like service from Cubarsí, but goalkeeper Valles deflected the shot. And Raphinha did it and celebrated it but the referee, with suspense, annulled it when he understood that the Brazilian benefited from an illegal position when the ball reached him deflected by a defender, who was contesting the ball. Everything had been born with a fantastic combination between Lewandowski, who let the ball pass, and the tireless Fermín.
The match underwent a script twist shortly after when goalkeeper Valles was sent off for knocking down Raphinha outside the area. There was more than an hour left in the game and Las Palmas was left with ten.
García Pimienta’s team had no choice but to take a step back and dress warmer. Meanwhile, Barça continued to insist and now Lewandowski sent a shot to the crossbar with his shoulder. Despite the rain, they enjoyed the stadium, full of tourists who did not leave the team alone. It seemed incredible that Barcelona were not winning and even more so when they saw another chance that Raphinha sent out. Of course, Coco was able to advance the Canaries with a missile free-kick that passed very close to the post.
The passage through the locker room did not bring anything good for Barcelona as the match became extremely difficult. Las Palmas began to lose time in an exaggerated way and the pace plummeted. There was a risk that Xavi’s team would fall into despair and the Blaugrana coaching staff did not wait any longer. João Félix was turned to in search of greater precision between the lines because now there was not so much space to ride.
A decision that proved to be correct because the Portuguese, just going out, connected a perfect assist towards Raphinha, who entered like a howitzer to head into the net. A great goal that finally moved the scoreboard after so much knocking on the door. João Félix put it beautifully and the Brazilian drew a brilliant unmarking. In this interior position, leaning to the left, Raphinha performs better.
Winning and with one more. Everything was going in the right direction for Barcelona, ??who introduced another replacement. Ferran Torres returned after two months of injury in place of Lamine Yamal, who was more subdued than usual after his great game at the Bernabéu.
But a sentence was needed to avoid stress and, incredibly, Joao Félix missed a goal more than expected. At close range he hit the crossbar half a meter from the goalkeeper. Then the ball went to the post and Aarón almost put it in his own goal. It was much more difficult to miss it than to score it but the Portuguese was confident and Barça was about to pay for it.
Because Moleiro almost equalized with a shot that crashed into the side of the net. The Blaugrana team, now without Lewandowski who had forced the fifth yellow card, had relaxed too much with minimal income. But the equalizer did not come and Barça can now prepare, with ten days ahead, the visit to the Parc des Princes in Paris. Big words.