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9 months ago
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At the end of the draw between Real Sociedad and Rayo Vallecano and following Real Madrid’s narrow victory against Las Palmas, the 22nd day of Liga offered us an enticing match between FC Barcelona and Villarreal at the Montjuïc stadium, this Saturday. Third and somewhat behind in the race for the title, Barça especially hoped to erase the affront suffered during the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey against Athletic Bilbao to restart the machine. Especially since Xavi’s men were crossing swords with a Villarreal team plagued by doubts for many months. With performances at half mast, the Yellow Submarine certainly put an end to a series of three defeats in a row by conceding a draw against Mallorca during the previous day, but remains dangerously within shooting range of the red zone with only five units ahead of the first relegation. Regarding the starting eleven concocted against the Basques at the start of the week, Xavi made a few changes including the first start of Hector Fort, aged 17, to compensate for the long-term absence of Alejandro Baldé. On the other hand, the Catalan coach decided to place his trust in Oriol Romeu and João Félix, both lined up from the kick-off. Opposite, Marcelino kept the same players as in Mallorca.
From the outset, Barça’s defense showed the first signs of feverishness. Fortunately, Sorloth lacked the spontaneity to strike in a pivot (1st). Immediately, Barça stood out through Yamal. Rushing down the right flank, the Spaniard sent a cross towards Gündogan who saw his shot deflected by an opponent for a corner (4th). Making a great start to the match, Yamal alerted Jorgensen, vigilant on his line (8th). Entrenched in his own half, Villarreal had all the difficulty in the world to keep the danger away and João Félix took the opportunity to imitate his compatriot a few minutes later. Inspired, the Portuguese continued very quickly to force Jorgensen to take flight and push the ball above his crossbar (15th). Feverish defensively, the Catalans were punished by Moreno, receiving a cross from the right. A short-lived joy for the Submarine, the referee considering that Sorloth was in a legal position on the Iberian’s goal (22nd). Coming out cheaply, the Culés, however, lacked the initiative and creativity to distinguish themselves offensively against a well-grouped yellow defense despite some imperfections on the restart. More efficient in front of goal, Villarreal managed to open the scoring at the best moment through its captain. Unhappy earlier in the game, Moreno victoriously took a cross from Sorloth to leave Pena unmoved (0-1, 41st).
Barça crucified in added time!
Harmless despite an encouraging first quarter of an hour, the Catalans returned to the locker room, plagued by doubts. Back against the wall, Xavi played down his strengths to try to turn the game around by making three changes, with the entries of Pedri, Cancelo and Cubarsi. As soon as the restart, the Catalans set off again to attack the opposing goal. Remaining at the forefront, Araujo missed the target by a few centimeters on a cross from Yamal (48th). Same story for the 16-year-old, too short to catch a stolen ball from Cancelo (49th). Despite good intentions after returning from the locker room, the Catalans scuttled, giving Villarreal the break goal. On a completely missed clearance from Cancelo, Akhomach appeared to intercept the ball right under the Portuguese’s nose. Alone against Pena, the Moroccan hooked the Catalan goalkeeper and pushed the ball into the empty goal, scoring his first goal in the situation before going out with an injury (0-2, 58th). Entering the game in place of the ghostly João Félix, Ferran Torres woke up the Montjuïc public. Launched deep on the left flank, the ex-Citizen combined with Lewandowski. Unconsciously, the Pole dropped back for Gündogan who delivered a clear and unstoppable strike for Jorgensen (1-2, 60th).
Enough to completely revive the suspense in this part. Galvanized by the reduction in the score, the Catalans increased their attacks on the cage. Coming out of a failed face-off from Ferran Torres in front of Jorgensen (65th), Pedri highlighted his talent to get his team back on track. Brilliant in the midfield, the Spanish midfielder distinguished himself this time by volleying a ball sent halfway up by Gündogan (2-2, 68th). In reaction, Barça passed with a quarter of an hour to go. At the helm of an eccentric free kick on the left, Gündogan sent a strong ball to the penalty spot. In the fight with Araujo, Bailly propelled the leather into his own cages (3-2, 72nd). Thinking they were heading quietly towards success, Barça were once again surprised in the last ten minutes. On a counter-attack carried out at high speed, Sorloth threw Guedes deep. The Portuguese adjusted Pena to equalize in favor of his team and score his first goal under his new colors (3-3, 84th). What followed was a cold shower for Barça. After a catastrophic recovery from Araujo, Capoue recovered the leather and found Sorloth who successfully deceived Pena (90th + 8). In the process, Morales added to the score by scoring at the end of added time (90th + 11). Barça suffers new disillusionment and is now 10 points behind Real Madrid. For its part, Villarreal is jubilant and takes an 8-point lead in the red zone.
