Without ambition at the beginning and without talent afterwards, Barça slows down. The draw against San Mamés represents a step back in Barcelona’s La Liga aspirations. Unable to cut the deficit with Madrid, the team is a victim of its own technical limitations and also loses two of its brains for the decisive part of the season. It was a night to win and Xavi’s men were left in the dark, showing their poor football and their impotence.
Barcelona’s unbeaten streak as a visitor in the League was not interrupted and Athletic have already gone thirteen games without losing at home, but no one can be satisfied. De Jong’s sprain and Pedri’s umpteenth muscular incident slowed the team down in the game and cost him dearly for the future, just like Athletic, who gave rest and missed Nico Williams, who was suspended.
Xavi almost followed the eleven that thrashed Getafe thinking that the same plan would work for San Mamés, but the match was nothing like running behind the defense. On the contrary, they played a lot to be in control, with more intent to keep the ball and only take risks if it was very clear, to minimize losses and eliminate the possibility of receiving vertical play. Both the one and the other were more anxious to avoid blows than to nail them.
That attempt with little ambition was against the interests of Barça, who needed the three points to take advantage of the leader’s tie and Girona’s defeat. The opportunity he was looking for was right in front of him and he didn’t go for it brazenly. For Valverde, the tacit pact of non-aggression did not harm them so much because they will continue to dream of sneaking into the 2024-2025 Champions League.
So Barcelona started with more possession than expected. Far from being a broken match, there was a lot of midfield and here it seemed that Gündogan, Pedri and De Jong had an advantage against Athletic with an absolutely new core (Vesga, Dani García and Unai Gómez) after the hangover of the qualification for the cup final. On the other hand, in the visiting line-up, the ownership of Raphinha squeaked, who is very electric when he has meters but loses reliability in small and interior spaces. While Lamine Yamal, who was unbalanced in January in the Cup, watched it from the bench.
If Athletic intended for few things to happen until in the final stretch they could use their starters, tired from the semi-final, the injuries first to De Jong and then to Pedri helped them a lot. Both relapsed into problems they already had at the beginning of the season; both did it alone, and both immediately realized that the misfortune was not small. De Jong, in a jump in which all the weight fell on his right ankle, which bent. Pedri injured his right thigh after a long commute and left in tears, giving way to Lamine Yamal.
Without the Dutchman or the Canary, Barcelona suddenly lost quality. The Blaugrana, who have been without Gavi since November, were left with only Gündogan of the four interior players they had in the summer. And to top it all off, the German had to sit next to Christensen to participate in the creation.
The first and only time in the first half that Barcelona countered Athletic was when he leaked a good pass to Fermín, substitute for De Jong. The one from Huelva wanted to solve, but it was met by Unai Simón who went outside the area. The ball was deflected and from forty meters Cancelo tried to score with a spectacular vaseline. The goalkeeper ran and between him and Yeray they avoided the goal over the line.
The uneventful first half had an effect on Barcelona’s morale and, after the break, Athletic took the step forward that they felt they would do. The white-and-reds began to step into the area with shots from the solitary Iñaki Williams (high) and Unai Gómez (outside). The entrance of Sancet made the locals stretch even more. For Barcelona, ??it cost him a world that there was continuity in the game, no matter how much Lamine Yamal wanted it. Only once did Gündogan, Cancelo and Lewandowski meet inside. In the best play, the pass reached the Pole in the area, who when he was about to finish saw Paredes throw himself to the ground to block it.
The triple change of Iñigo Martínez (received with whistles), Romeu and João Félix gave a little more calm and nerve to Xavi’s team, which was left expecting individuality in attack. The flash didn’t come. Barça did not even approach Unai Simón. He was too lame for football and dry of ideas.
