Barcelona netted three objectives and recorded a clear sheet en path to their final evening on the Spotify Camp Nou, extending their lead on prime of the desk and placing stress on Actual Madrid who’ve a difficult go to to Mestalla on Sunday.
Robert Lewandowski was the one to open the scoring for the Blaugrana, working a internet end previous the goalkeeper with ice in his veins.
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The 2 remaining objectives, in the meantime, had been sweet to the attention as Lamine Yamal thumped the ball from outdoors the field with an unstoppable effort whereas Marc Bernal scored a shocking solo purpose with a run within the last third.
Barça Common brings you three takeaways from Barcelona 3-0 Mallorca.
A clear sheet ultimately
Barcelona’s 3-0 win over Mallorca final evening was their first clear sheet in 4 video games and second within the final seven – numbers that put into perspective how poor their defensive document has been in current video games.
Final evening didn’t see the Catalans dish out a very excellent defensive outing both, however the clear sheet is an indication of enchancment that can’t be ignored.
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Jules Kounde was the one weak hyperlink for Barcelona on the again final evening, and never for the primary time this season. He appeared out of place, failed to trace again with function, and sometimes appeared plain lazy to compete for the ball.
Other than his displaying nevertheless, the centre-back pairing confirmed severe indicators of promise and it’s slowly rising clear that the Pau Cubarsi-Eric Garcia partnership is Barcelona’s most suitable option duo within the division.
The Spanish pairing confirmed nice understanding of place, good synchrony, and didn’t permit Mallorca to create any risk build up by the center. They performed the offside lure to perfection and reduce down passing channels successfully.
Whereas there’s nonetheless room to enhance, what Flick can take away is that the crew’s defensive stability relies upon rather a lot on the Garcia-Cubarsi partnership, though different measures need to be taken to curb the risk out large.
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Rashford’s secret weapon
Rashford was a menace for Mallorca on the wing. (Picture by Angel Martinez/Getty Pictures)
Marcus Rashford could not have gotten on the scoreboard final evening, however his presence on the sphere created real worry within the Mallorca defenders. There was, in any case, a basic distinction in how he approached the sport on the evening.
Beginning rather than the injured Raphinha, Rashford didn’t hesitate in pulling the set off final evening and commonly appeared to chop in and even shoot on purpose. He confirmed a conspicuous enchancment within the supply of his last product, and the outcome was outstanding.
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Via the opening 45 minutes when Mallorca sat in a low block, the Englishman was constantly Barcelona’s most threatening attacking presence and created a ruckus within the opposition space.
He got here very near scoring from distance on two events and may have completed with not less than a purpose or an help, however what the supervisor and the participant will take away from the sport is that his productiveness and risk massively improve when he lets himself free.
To this point this season, Rashford has held again on launching his vicious strikes and has relied on crosses or counterattacks to create threats. The brand new, secret weapon may be what he must take his recreation to the subsequent degree.
Legitimate questions on the refereeing
Whereas Barcelona did get away with all three factors comfortably on the evening, the refereeing was abysmal but once more and seemingly focused towards the Catalans – as has been the case for some time now.
Flick was booked for questioning the referee’s choices. (Picture by Alex Caparros/Getty Pictures)
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Barcelona have at all times been a crew to facet with the officers, perceive their difficult scenario and never intrude with minor errors on the sphere.
The scenario now, nevertheless, has gotten to a degree the place it seems borderline purposeful, and severe questions need to be raised concerning the inconsistencies in refereeing.
At a time when Actual Madrid win nearly a penalty in each various recreation with immediate VAR checks and even half-decisions constantly going their method, Barcelona had been but once more denied a crystal clear penalty final evening when Lamine Yamal was taken down.
The teen was on a threatening run, heading in the direction of purpose and utterly contained in the penalty space when he was taken down by the defender’s outstretched leg. Neither did the opposition participant contact the ball, nor was there any lack of readability on the contact.
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But, there was not an indication of life from the VAR room even minutes after the incident, and there’s no cheap clarification as to why the VARs weren’t doing the job they had been put in for.
A second such refereeing error got here when Barcelona had been making ready for a free-kick and the Mallorca wall stepped near a foot forward of the road as acknowledged by the referee and confronted no penalties for a similar.
As an alternative, Hansi Flick was proven a yellow card for elevating legitimate issues on the 2 incidents above, and one is pressured to ask how lengthy Barcelona will undergo from such one-sided arbitration.