Sweating Chinese ink but victory. Reducing balls as if there were no tomorrow, but triumph. In the middle of a field hospital, but resisting. With Lewandowski injured. With Lamine Yamal leaving the field of play due to an illness. With Araújo played muscularly. With Ter Stegen, as always a savior, hurt in one hand. With a penalty against him annulled by the VAR. With ten for Gavi’s final expulsion. With extreme suffering. With all that but also with three points in the bag and with the lead after winning in an electric Do Dragão. A goal from Ferran Torres on the stroke of halftime catapulted Barcelona into survival. The Valencian, who came in for Lewandowski, did not forgive and his finishing is honey in the midst of a panorama of general hysteria. When the referee finished, Araújo hugged Koundé and fell on the grass with cramps.
The entire Barça trembled but ended up standing. In Europe, the land of their collapse, Xavi’s team did not shine but they did not give up and won. Here you can start building in the Champions League.
Because if the noise makes your skin crawl, this is Europe. If the decibels threaten to destroy your eardrum, this is Do Dragão. If the opponent bites you like an attack dog when he doesn’t have the ball, this is Porto. If your rivals smell your fear, you have a problem coming up. But to scare away ghosts, to erase fears, there is personality if football does not end up being round. Many minutes passed between one station and another, in which the Conceição footballers pushed hard, put pressure at their discretion and showed that the one who trembled the most in Barça was Oriol Romeu. The pivot accumulated three consecutive losses that encouraged the roar of a crowd that did not remain silent for a moment. These inaccuracies, accompanied by Cancelo’s intolerable anarchy, threw Barcelona off balance, which did not come into play with continuity.
Xavi had opted for the return of Romeu and Araújo to the eleven, to add carats of physicality to his team, but also for the overflow of Lamine Yamal and João Félix on the wings in search of talent and imagination. However, for the forwards’ class to emerge they have to be fed balls and Barça had a hard time transporting them from the back to the front.
Of course, when he achieved it, Yamal, with some details on his side, and João Félix on the other generated a sense of danger. The Portuguese striker aroused the anger of the public every time he touched the ball, for having left Porto for Benfica, but he did not give up with tremendous hypermotivation. He showed an individualistic point but he tried the shot with conviction, forcing Diogo Costa to intervene.
Ter Stegen also appeared in the other area to abort an attempt by Eustaquio, although it was João Mario on the right and Galeno on the left who gave Barça the most problems.
A restless Xavi was looking for solutions in his 100th game on the bench and sent Gündogan to help the troubled Romeu with the ball. A correct decision as it was to combine the German more and Barcelona calm down, although the misfortune manifested itself in the form of an injury. Carmo hunted Lewandowski without the referee, permissive with rough play, signaling a foul and the Pole asked for a change minutes later with his left ankle damaged. The 9th to the shower and Ferran Torres, who would be vital, to the living room. Just entering the Valencian required Diogo Costa and on the edge of half-time he scored.
Baró stupidly lost a ball and Gündogan activated Ferran Torres, who this time did not miss and beat the Porto goalkeeper low.
He celebrated in style while Do Dragão, for the first time, married silence. Except for the 1,600 Barcelona fans, of course.
Barça’s football did not have continuity or clear command but it was competing, fighting, growing and was ahead on the scoreboard.
In this situation, it was convenient for Xavi’s team to knead the ball more, limit losses, reduce scares and settle in the opposite field. His team seemed to understand it, despite a premature attempt after the intermission by the tireless João Mario. However, he soon lost the thread again and Koundé first and then Araújo had to play to the limit to save Ter Stegen without committing a penalty. Meanwhile, Lamine Yamal raised his arms demanding balls that did not arrive and Porto multiplied his faith. Pepé tried with a header and Wendell burst into the area to force Ter Stegen to avoid the tie. The German goalkeeper would later decorate himself with a saved handball after Galeno’s shot.
Waves came and before his team burned Xavi moved the bench. He turned to Fermín and Sergio Roberto seeking more control. The booed João Félix and Oriol Romeu left
But Barça continued to go backwards and a particular episode occurred, when Lamine Yamal disappeared like a flash through the locker room tunnel, due to some illness, and did not return.
In the meantime, Barcelona played a few minutes with ten, amid doubts on the bench about what to do, and Porto sent a ball into the area. Cancelo cut it off with his hand and the referee declared a penalty. The alarms sounded again, but after a long review the referee went to see the play on the screen and understood that there had been a previous handball in the control of Eustaquio. Sigh of relief from Xavi’s men, who breathed again with a goal disallowed, for offside, by Taremi. By then Marcos Alonso had already come on for Yamal, so Barcelona ended up with two left backs. To make matters worse, Gavi was sent off when he saw the second yellow. He had to hold on no matter what and Barça did it. A golden result.
