The League leader is racing towards the noble zone of the Champions League after an authoritative victory in the small Maracana in Belgrade. At the end of the break, the Blaugrana finished a match that they had left on hold due to unusual generosity in the areas: they were not infallible when it came to calling the offside call and their pulse trembled on the opponent’s side when they played to finish off. to the Red Star. The ball did not stop spinning on the restart towards Ilic’s goal from Koundé’s boot to the delight of Lewandowski. The striker scored two goals and missed two more with the score 5-1. There are now 19 in total for the Pole for 55 for a team that when it does not score is suspected of having deviated from Flick’s manual.
2
Marko Ilic, Milan Rodic (Milson, min. 58), Nasser Djiga, Uros Spajic, Seol Young-Woo, Rade Krunic, Andrija Maksimovic (Luka Ilic, min. 71), Timi Elsnik, Guélor Kanga (Dálcio, min. 71) , Silas Katompa Mvumpa (Egor Prutsev, min. 82) and Cherif Ndiaye (Aleksandar Katai, min. 81)
5
Iñaki Peña, Gerard Martín, Iñigo Martínez, Pau Cubarsí (Sergi Domínguez, min. 66), Jules Koundé, Frenkie de Jong (Gavi, min. 67), Lamine Yamal, Raphinha (Fermín López, min. 57), Pedri (Dani Olmo, min. 58), Marc Casadó and Robert Lewandowski (Pau Víctor, min. 77)
Goals
0-1 min. 12: Íñigo Martínez. 1-1 min. 26: Silas Wamangituka Fundu. 1-2 min. 42: Lewandowski. 1-3 min. 52: Lewandowski. 1-4 min. 54: Raphinha. 1-5 min. 75: Fermin Lopez. 2-5 min. 83: Milson
Referee Espen Eskås
yellow cards
Cherif Ndiaye (min. 60), Uros Spajic (min. 63)
No club looks like Barça and the last half hour of the derby, a match resolved in half an hour, was surprising because the Blaugrana disconnected in Montjuïc. That intense team focused on the opposing goal from the beginning to the end of each match stopped pressing, lost the ball and gave Espanyol some chances. There was therefore expectation to know how Belgrade would react. Although it is still not known what can be demanded of them or what they can aspire to, Barcelona is already a slave to results like the 4-1 against Bayern. The Blaugrana recovered their competitive tension and voracity against Red Star and responded with a 2-5 with a lineup similar to the one that knocked down Espanyol.
The immediate challenge for Flick, a coach who strives to improve starters and substitutes, is to win for the cause De Jong, a footballer difficult to classify in the Barça universe since his arrival in 2019. The Dutchman, who made his debut as a starter , needs minutes in the same way that it is advisable to regulate the efforts of Olmo, a midfielder as exquisite as he is delicate, and we must be careful with Balde, replaced by Gerard Martín. Only two changes compared to last Sunday’s formation, the best way to respect the competition and the rival, the undisputed leader of their league and with zero points in the Champions League.
The Blaugrana took the ball and began to chew the play to find spaces in the defense of up to ten Red Star players. Milojevic’s team waited on their court, waiting to put together a transition or connect with the giant Ndiaye. The goal, however, came from a set piece, a luck that was as practiced as it was solvent in Flick’s team. Raphinha took a lateral free kick and Iñigo Martínez headed into Ilic’s net. The Barcelona fans were once again effective for a moment in both areas after the offside tactic had previously served to invalidate an arrival by Elsnik, who finished off a goal against the revelry of Rajko Mitic.
The fans did not stop singing in the small Maracaná and became inflamed every time Ndiaye appeared. The powerful striker braced himself on the edge of the area and unloaded the ball to the suffering of Barça. The Senegalese ended up leaking a ball and Silas caught the back of the Barça forward defense to make it 1-1. Gerard Martín, the substitute left-back, was hooked when it came time to throw the line and enabled Silas. The error decentered the Barcelona fans after Raphinha, assisted by Lamine, had forgiven the 0-2 lead. Flick’s boys had their pulse failing for a day, imprecise in bailing and also in finishing, until Lewandowski got it right.
The striker, clumsy in front of the goalkeeper, then caught the ball spit by the post from Raphinha’s shot, enabled by excellent driving and assistance from Pedri. Lewandowski forgave the 1-3 in a shot that was a goal or a goal in Ilic’s small area. The striker immediately made up for it when he pushed Koundé’s cross with his thigh. The winger became the figure after facilitating the 1-4 for Raphinha and the 1-5 for Fermín.
Barcelona’s ambition overwhelmed a Red Star that only found relief with a second goal when Barça played with a team full of youth players, without the central defender Cubarsí, who had to retire with a torn jaw due to a challenge by Spajic. Flick was able to rotate with the changes and give breaks to players like Raphinha, omnipresent from a more central position than usual, tearing up Red Star’s defense.
The Brazilian stands out with Flick. The coach wakes up the team when he gets distracted as happened in the derby and with the 1-1 draw in Belgrade. He intervened at half-time and Barça settled the event with a festival of football and goals in a stadium with great Barça memories since Maradona’s famous sting on October 20, 1982. Pelusa scored two goals and the match ended: 2- 4. Barcelona won yesterday 2-5 with a collective festival culminated by Lewandowski, Fermín, Raphinha and Iñigo Martínez.
