A Holy Mess of Ludicrous changes that did not cost Barcelona too much
Review of the Celta Vigo – FC Barcelona Laliga game – April 17, 2018
For some inexplicable reason, Barcelona had generally
struggled against Celta in recent years especially in their fortress - Estadio Balaidos.
Earlier this season, Celta had held them 2-2 at the Camp Nou. Hence it was considered
as another acid test for the struggling Barcelona. To that acidity, the under
fire, Valverde decided to add fire by making an unbelievable 8 changes to the
lineup. For all those clamoring for rotation and change – he gave bag loads of
them. I don’t think anyone expected the soft spoken Valverde to react in such a
manner. Probably he wanted to show how pathetic the Barcelona bench was and he totally
succeeded in doing it.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Paulinho and Philippe
Coutinho were the only regulars in the starting line-up. Messi. Luis Suarez, Alba and
Umtiti were the backups. Ter Stegen was the captain for the evening – a first
for him.
The way the make shift Barcelona played -it was
total pandemonium from start to finish. They had difficulty linking and gave
away the ball way too easily. The overacting and rough Celta were encouraged by
the bedlam and kept attacking. Ter Stegen was kept busy throughout and he made
some amazing saves. Denis Suarez, Vermaelen, Andre Gomes, and Digne were found wanting most of the
times. Maybe it’s the lack of playing time or just that they were not strong enough
to be full time players.
The players who were better than the rest were
Countinho, Paulinho, Dembele and Semedo. Yerry Mina was on and off – but that’s
totally understandable. But even with them it was not all that easy. Aspas created havoc and also drove everyone
nuts with his over reactions. (At times you would actually want to give him a whack
on his head, for his unnecessary antics).
But as it had most of this season, against the
run of play, Barcelona managed to score. A Semedo cross was met by Alcacer’s
shot which felln as a cross to Dembele. He killed it with his left foot, with a
fantastic half-volley. It was lovely
finish for the young man who finally scored his first league goal. The warm celebrations
of the team with the players in the dugout, showed how much it meant for
everyone.
Towards the end of the first half, poor play
from the Andre Gomes, who was hobbling a bit from an earlier challenge,
resulted in Maxi Gomez giving a fantastic cross to Jonny Castro who finished it
off without any problems. It was 1-1 at half time.
In the second half Valverde mercifully substituted
the woeful Andre Gomes and quiet Coutinho for Sergi Roberto and Messi. The entrance
of Messi seemed to inspire the Barca players and they for once started to
attack and put Celta under pressure. Soon a prefect cross from sent in by the
rushing Paulinho who had been threatening all night. Later replays showed that ball
was also brushed by Alcacer’s studs,
before it went in. Whoever it was Barcelona was leading 2-1.
While Celta kept Ter Stegen and Co busy,
Paulinho and Messi tried to move forward for Barca. Then, came, the turning point,
as Sergi struggled to stop Aspas who had broken free with the ball. A desperate
Sergi Roberto obstructed Aspas by pulling him back blatantly and was sent off. He could have been
a bit more patient. The already struggling 2nd string of players now
had the uphill task of defending with 10 men.
There was a lot of pressure on the Barca defense
as Celta pressed harder. Finally it ended in Aspas getting the better of Ter
Stegen and scoring from a low pass by Mor. But the little prick had scored with
his hand which the referee failed to notice. Celta after equalizing, went
in for the kill. They had a great chance as Aspas gave a great ball to Boye
whose shot was missed by Ter Stegen and thankfully it ricocheted off Digne who
was behind him. That was Digne’s best moment in the entire game.
If any Barca player had scored with his hand,
the press would have gone ballistics over the poor refereeing which favoured
Barca. But there was very little mention of Aspas’s hand goal. Despite
struggling throughout the match, whatever said and done, Barcelona were denied
a win and 3 points for the second time this season, by poor refereeing.
The draw ensured that Barcelona’s unbeaten
streak continued for the 40th match. But this match brought to light
the reality of Barcelona’s bench strength. It also showed that Valverde would
either not rotate at all or rotate almost everyone. Eight changes at one go,
was more of an insane circus than a pragmatic approach. If they could find the balance
between proper rotation and better integration, it would be much better for
both FC Barcelona and Valverde.
And finally, for his own good and for the sake
of the team, Andre Gomes must leave Barcelona next season. It’s a hopeless situation
which cannot be rectified.
Best
Performers for Barca:
Ter
Stegen - The Captain was the star of the night, keeping
the marauding Celta at bay, by coming up with 8 superb saves in all. Let down
by his defenders most of the time, he stood tall and never flinched. It was a
staggering performance that kept Barca’s unbeaten La Liga run intact.
Paulinho
–
He lacked the skills, but definitely had the intent to push forward. He was
also the only player who tried genuinely to link with Messi once he came in. A constant
threat, he hit the woodwork once in the first half and was deservedly credited for
the 2nd goal.
Semedo
-
Had a good game especially moving forward and linking up with Dembele. He had a
hand in both the Barca goals of the evening. After the 2nd goal,
Messi , realizing how well he had set up the assist, went over to Semedo first ,instead of the goal scorers. But his
defending was a sore point.
Dembele
–
He gave a glimpse of his capabilities, but he needs to vastly improve on his
trapping and passing skills. He was also quite commendable in defense. This
future star needs to be refined a bit more and he will be a great asset for
Barca in the coming years.
Coutinho
–
He was the heart of most attacks in the first half, but was let down by the poor
finishing of Barca. Somehow he was very quiet after the hour mark. It would
have been better if he was allowed to play along with Leo. Unluckily for him, he was subbed off for
Messi. For all his skills and ability, he lacked the stamina and strength to
last 90 minutes.
Messi
-
He created a stir from the moment he stepped in. There was more energy and
optimism among the players when he played. But with Barca reduced to 10 men
within 10 minutes of his coming in and only Paulinho trying to link up with
him, he was left stranded in the middle, most of the time.
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