A Catalan derby to start out the brand new 12 months, and at a venue the place the sport and ambiance are at all times eventful!
Lamine Yamal’s rocket, Espanyol ultras storming the pitch after Barca received the title there, Gerard Pique getting pelters for calling them Espanyol de Cornella, and extra… there’s usually one thing to maintain the headline writers completely happy.
Forward of the sport, the hosts can have fancied their possibilities for as soon as, given how nicely they’ve been enjoying beneath Manolo Gonzalez.
Los Periquitos had been searching for a primary league win within the fixture since 2009, while Hansi Flick’s aspect had been hoping to earn the three factors to maintain them seven forward of Actual Madrid (briefly), heading into the Spanish Tremendous Cup.
Joan Garcia’s return to the RCDE Stadium was at all times going to be eventful, and the way he handled the anticipated barrage from the terraces – to incorporate rats being thrown at him – was more likely to partly affect the end result.
Let’s check out three speaking factors that in the end did affect the end result…
Sensational efficiency from Joan Garcia
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Because it turned out, there have been no rats despatched wherever close to Joan Garcia’s course, however the stage of hostility in direction of the keeper each time he touched the ball was one thing to behold.
To his absolute credit score, he didn’t permit that to have an effect on his pure sport. He stood tall as Roberto Fernandez bore down on objective, and his unimaginable point-blank save from Pere Milla’s towering header was the second of the match to that time.
One other save within the second half, as Fernandez tried to take the ball round him, was merely sensational.
His confidence and software can have filtered via to his again 4 and confirmed precisely the kind of character that Barca have in between the sticks.
The person for the massive event, indubitably.
Olmo, Lewandowski and Fermin make the distinction
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With Espanyol in nice kind too, this was at all times going to be a troublesome task for Barca, even when they hadn’t misplaced on the floor since Los Periquitos moved there.
It was a sport that the guests needed to come right, and be at it from first till final.
In observe, what that meant is that the attacking three, greater than anybody else, needed to be on the entrance foot all through, giving an anticipated low-block defence a torrid time at each potential alternative.
Sadly for Hansi Flick, Ferran Torres was off color, Marcus Rashford was having a kind of video games the place he blows cold and hot, Raphinha didn’t actually get going, and for all of Lamine Yamal’s efforts, he by no means actually bought a transparent sight of objective.
It’s a bit disappointing that there couldn’t have been only a bit extra effort at occasions, so thank God for Dani Olmo, Robert Lewandowski and Fermin Lopez.
The previous’s ‘proper on time’ celebration has hardly ever been extra applicable.
100 up for Eric Garcia and one other stable exhibiting
(Picture by Jose Breton/Pics Motion/NurPhoto by way of Getty Photos) NurPhoto by way of Getty Photos
An amazing sport for Eric Garcia to have a good time changing into a La Liga centurion for Barcelona.
As we’ve come to anticipate from the membership’s utility man, he offered one other stable exhibiting in each midfield and, as Barca chased the sport and placed on a variety of subs, in defence.
To not point out his dedication within the deal with, proven as soon as once more when risking severe damage, and his capacity to supply a supplementary attacking presence.
What a disgrace that he couldn’t discover the web as Dmitrovic flung himself full-length to disclaim Eric from a few yards out.