Jordi Alba has played 1,219 minutes in the League. However, they are enough for him, for now, to establish himself as the Barça defender with the most goals in the League: two. “To be a winger I was lucky to score many goals, but today it was important to win. It was a difficult game against a great rival. I knew that I could do damage as the game was. Frenkie gave me a great assist. In the end, we haven’t won the League for a long time, for someone who is from the house it is important ”, exposed the Barcelona winger. “The goal should have come earlier”, intervened Xavi Hernández; “We have suffered too much, we have missed many very clear occasions. They were just from pushing her. It has been the tonic of the season”. Barça added 21 shots, but only four on goal. “In the end, Jordi’s goal has arrived. Sometimes, it almost tastes better to win like this. The team has been hungry and proud”, finished off the Barca coach.
1
Ter Stegen, A. Christensen (Eric Garcia, min. 52), Koundé, Ronald Araújo, Alex Balde (Alba, min. 75), Frenkie De Jong, Raphinha (Ousmane Dembélé, min. 52), Busquets (Ferrán Torres, min. 75), Pedri, Gavi (Ansu Fati, min. 36) and Lewandowski
0
Aitor, Manu Sánchez, Diego Moreno, Unai García, Jorge Herrando, Lucas Torró (Juan Cruz, min. 59), Iker Benito (Aridane, min. 69), Rubén García (Kike Barja, min. 45), Pablo Ibáñez, Aimar Oroz (Iker Muñoz, min. 45) and Chimy Ávila (Kike García, min. 59)
goals 1-0 min. 85: Dawn.
Referee Javier Iglesias Villanueva
red cards Jorge Herrando (min. 26)
To distribute the game, essentially to bet on the common good at the club, Xavi praised the work in the transfer market of the football management after the summer window closed. “We have a template”, stressed the Barcelona coach, at the same time that he spoke of a joint effort between the person in charge of the area, Mateu Alemany, the technical secretary, Jordi Cruyff, and himself. However, the coach trusts few players. And, in the final stretch of the League, when Barça has half a title in his pocket, Xavi does not hide it.
After having thrashed Betis (4-0) last Saturday, the Barcelona coach repeated the same starting eleven against Osasuna. With the exception of Dembélé, who is still looking for his best physical shape and started the two duels on the bench, the Barça coach already has all of his favorite footballers. And he takes advantage of them. Xavi used to alter the drawing regarding the opponent’s game. Facing teams that closed behind, the coach opted for a system with two players on wide-open wings, while he used the false winger when he wanted to treasure the ball. Against Osasuna, who doesn’t boast happy football, Xavi instead clung to his ideal eleven. But he did not last long. Gavi, with muscular discomfort, said enough was enough in the 36th minute.
Xavi, then, had no choice but to look at the bench. But it was not yet Dembélé’s time. The coach called Ansu Fati. “I took advantage of Gavi’s discomfort to go more on the attack. He has come a couple of times to tell us that he was bothering him a bit and we have looked for Ansu because we needed to win the game”, explained Xavi. The Barça number 10 pursues his best football at Barcelona, while his father Bori wants him away from the Camp Nou and his representative, Jorge Mendes, is looking for offers in the Premier. “I’m here to talk to the family. Ansu is a great player, he has shown all his value when he was at Barcelona before the injury and he is a phenomenon. We are going to see what will happen”, stressed the Portuguese super agent this Tuesday, after landing in the Catalan capital. Mendes has several pending businesses with Barça. In addition to solving the situation of Fati (he is the sixteenth player who has played the most minutes this season: 1,662), he is working on renewing the contracts of Balde and Lamine Yamal.
With Ansu Fati on the field, added to the fact that Osasuna was already one man down after the expulsion of Jorge Herrando, Xavi insisted on his wingers to corner near the line. However, Barça could not find the formula to break Osasuna’s defensive wall. It did not take long, then, to look at Dembélé. French didn’t solve the problem either. Xavi insisted with more changes. In short, he insisted on more forwards: Ferran Torres. There were plenty of attackers, yes; but the zero on the scoreboard was broken by a defender. Exactly a player that the football management wanted out of Barça in the last market: Jordi Alba. “The team is having a fantastic league. There are many young people who will be able to have their first title”, concluded Alba, MVP of the match. Lifeguard of Barça, who is already caressing the title.
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