FC Barcelona crushes Mallorca and revives (1-5). After a messy first quarter of an hour, Barça opened the scoring thanks to Ferran Torres following gross errors from the opposing defense. After coming close to the penalty on counterattacks, the Blaugrana ended up breaking just before half-time thanks to Vedat Muriqi.
Barça set the record straight after the break thanks to a saving double from Raphinha. Frenkie de Jong and Pau Victor added a layer at the end of the match. After three games in a row without a victory, the Blaugrana are relaunching and putting pressure on Real Madrid who travel to Bilbao this Wednesday.
Inaki Pena was caught in a situation against two attackers that was difficult to defend. The Spanish goalkeeper made several interesting outings on long balls behind his defense. Nothing else to report.
Jules Koundé was often overtaken defensively by Mojica and found himself making a mistake with the ball. The French full-back had little progress due to the presence of Balde on the opposite side. The few times he tried to accompany Yamal, he got caught behind his back.
Koundé produced some particularly good compensations in the middle against Muriqi. We expect a lot more from a defender who has been struggling slightly lately.
Pau Cubarsi received a yellow card very early in the match. It was interesting to see how he would handle this situation at his young age. The young Spanish rock did not make any mistakes and again ensured a secure position to obtain numerous offsides. Strong match.
Inigo Martinez is somewhere at fault on Muriqi's goal which was slightly too low compared to his teammates. An error in a generally controlled first period.
Subsequently, the experienced defender ensured to obtain as many offsides as possible and aerial duels as well. Rather reassuring after complicated weeks.
Alejandro Balde is decisive in ball releases with his speed and unfailing composure. The Spanish international produced a few well-aimed crosses, one of which was badly hit by Ferran.
Defensively, we haven't really seen him taken by his opponents. A meeting without transcendences or errors.
After being penalized very early with a yellow card, Marc Casado scared us very much and not just us… The Barcelona nugget was still on the verge of red even though he was already coming back from a suspension. With such technical players like Pedri and Olmo in front of him, he unloaded the recovery on them.
Casado does not really impress us as he often takes the easy route without taking risks.
Pedri still had the performance we know he has with the ball. The Spanish international distributed a number of precise balls forward. One of them led to the goal of Ferran Torres. The simplicity, finesse and technical qualities, what more could you ask for in such a unique environment.
Even defensively, Pedri had a lot of impact for his team. Athletically, we feel it 100%.
Dani Olmo was behind the opening goal with a bit of success. The Spanish international was clearly struggling to touch balls in the zone. Again he was at the origin of the penalty obtained with a splendid pass.
Olmo was involved defensively and did a lot to keep the danger away from his cages.
Lamine Yamal again produced several bright openings with his left foot for his offensive teammates. The Barcelona nugget had difficulty combining with his offensive teammates in the first half. One action shows this well: his missed shot without control from the left in the first period.
Yamal started again on other bases and obtained the penalty for 1-2 with a huge run. At the end of the match, his cross from the outside of the foot was sensational for Raphinha. He reproduced the same gesture on the 1-4 goal and was involved on the fifth. The spinning left-hander from Barça almost scored his goal at the end of the match. Great second half.
Ferran Torres was back in the eleven in place of Robert Lewandowski. The Spanish international scored a pure fox goal with great success. A few minutes later, he harvested two good centers from Raphinha through questionable controls and a delicious center from Balde.
His blunders cost Barça dearly at times before they were able to take cover. Ferran could have scored one or two more goals this evening.
Raphinha produced again very great crosses for his teammates harvested by his teammates, especially Ferran Torres. The Brazilian international had an opportunity just before half-time but missed in his shot.
He made up for it at the start of the second half by converting the penalty. He scored a second goal with his left foot after a crazy call. It was his pass that allowed Pau Victor to score at 1-5. His defensive involvement is an example of the kind to demonstrate to certain executives of the position.
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