Espanyol 0 Barcelona 2: Joan Garcia Heroics Guide Barcelona to Routine Win Over Pesky Neighbors
Football at Barcelona is often played in midfield. Listen to Barcelona fans talk and you will know that a signal of a good Barcelona team is found at the centre of the park. Michael Laudrup, Pep Guardiola, Deco, Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets, and now Pedri, De Jong, Gavi, and Marc Bernal. All are the coronation of what football is about. Football, Culers will tell you, is played in symmetry, with succinct one-touch passing in the middle, a feint here, a neat through pass there, sublime skill all around. The other positions, um, well, you can fill them with some scraps and some bargains. Personally, though, I am beginning to think that Barcelona's best signing over the past few seasons might just be Joan Garcia, the goalkeeper. Twice in that second half, Roberto Fernandez, Espanyol's centre forward, had two chances that even the most average center forward would use to end any goal drought without stretching themselves thin like butter on bread. Yet in both instances, Joan Garcia wa...
