Barcelona 1- PSG 2: Blaugrana High Line Exposed as PSG Win it Late
This was the night that it was supposed to happen, when
Barcelona would get some payback against Luis Enrique’s PSG that tore them into
pieces last season. Instead, we witnessed Barcelona zombie-walk through a dreadful second half that saw PSG pin them back for much of
the second half and deservedly fell to a Goncalo Ramos dagger.
But it started brightly, as such plot twist scripts always do.
Barcelona moved the ball beautifully in the opening minutes
of the first half. They didn’t create many chances of note, but it was a start
that we all wished for against a top, top side like PSG. Pedri, De Jong, and
Olmo, for all his faults, had one over Vitinha, Fabian Ruiz, and Zaire-Emery in
the opening salvo.
Yet, Blaugrana still failed to find any openings, though
they threatened through the ever-improving Rashford, the electrifying Lamine
Yamal, and the magic wand foot of Pedri. And Pedri, Lamine Yamal, and Rashford would
all be involved in setting up the opening goal for us.
Vitinha, who had a quiet first half, made a sloppy pass wide to Nuno Mendez and Lamine Yamal, eager and ready, jumped onto it and slid it to Pedri. The majestic Canary Islander strode forward with purpose, and you could see the PSG defense and midfield collapse around him, leaving space out wide for Rashford. Pedri slipped the ball to Rashford, who hit a first-time pass across the front of the goal for an unmarked Ferran to slot home. 1-0 Barcelona. This could have been the second goal for Barca, as in a previous attack, Ferran had rounded Chevalier from a Yamal pass, but Zabanyi was there to block the ball from crossing the line.
PSG finished the first half strongly, and the four-lunged
Nuno Mendez would play a hand in their equalizer when he strode forward with
purpose, cutting through Barca’s midfield before finding Mayulu, whose great
first touch put him one v one against Szczesny, and he beat the Polish
pensioner for the equalizer. 1-1. Game on.
Barca Pinned Back in the Second Half
I honestly have no words for that second-half performance. Aside
from a Dani Olmo shot, which he should have scored, Barcelona created little. It
was as though they did not turn up at all. PSG were on the front foot since the
first minute of the second half and did not lift the foot off of Barcelona’s
neck until that second goal dead into added time.
Barcelona’s subs effectively killed off any semblance of cohesion
that the team had - not that there was any in that second half. To be honest, I
wouldn’t be too mad because the subs that Barcelona made were effectively bringing
on players who are just returning from injury. Marc Bernal, a player working
his way into full match fitness after an ACL tear kept him on the decks for a
year or so, came on for Pedri while Balde was also making his first appearance
for the team since before the September international break. Even Yamal was
making his first start after some time in the medical room. So that lack of cohesion
is not something to be concerned about.
What is concerning, though, is how easy PSG had it for the
winning goal. 90 + 2 minutes. You are squeezed against the wall by a very well-drilled
PSG team built specifically to exploit the major weaknesses that Flick’s
Barcelona has. Why, then, would we still be playing a high line at the halfway
line as the game draws to a close? That line should have been deeper, and
perhaps that would have forced PSG to take that throw-in backwards. Instead, PSG
worked the ball wide to Hakimi, a flaming torch throughout that second half, and
he squared the ball to Ramos for an easy finish.
I often try not to get carried away by emotion when I watch
Barca’s games, but the way that winning goal was scored honestly still has my
blood boiling and my body shaking. I write this with trembling hands.
Based on how that second half was going, PSG would have
scored the winning goal anyway, but make no mistake, Barcelona gave PSG this
particular winning goal. No other way to look at it.
So, the question still remains – How ready is Barcelona to take on the very crème de la crème of European football? And will Flick adapt his high
line when the match is heading to its death and Barcelona have something to hold onto? And if he adapts, will it be permanent,
or will we see it rear its ugly head from time to time, as we saw tonight? Only
time will tell.
Until next time. Bye
Visca Barca.
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