Without Lionel Messi, FC Barcelona was in great difficulty against Eibar (1-1). Back, Ousmane Dembélé saved the draw for the Catalans, in a very complicated match for Martin Braithwaite and Antoine Griezmann.
It is a response to those who believe that the FC Barcelona play better without Lionel Messi, or at least in a more collective way. Without his Argentinian n ° 10, who was entitled to a longer vacation than his teammates, the Catalan club conceded a pitiful draw against Eibar (1-1) on Tuesday, which does not help its situation in the standings (6th).
Ronald Koeman had renewed the system with three central defenders set up in Valladolid before Christmas, with Antoine Griezmann in place of Messi in the offensive trident (with Pedri and Braithwaite). Unfortunately for him, the Frenchman made a disappointing copy, one more. Yes Braithwaite lacked success, missing a penalty (8th) before seeing his goal refused for an offside (25th), Griezmann lacked inspiration.
Dembélé laughs, not Griezmann
Overall, it was all Barça that disappointed, culminating in this huge error by Ronald Araujo, who let Kike Garcia slip away towards the opener (0-1, 57th). And it took the right entry fromOusmane Dembele (absent for 5 matches) for the Blaugranas to snatch a point, the French equalizing a good cross from Junior Firpo (1-1, 67th). And especially on one of the rare beautiful collective movements of the day, which took place just after the exit of Griezmann (66th), and involving two players who entered at that time, Trincao and Coutinho.
It is a cruel observation for the world champion, even if Barça has not been sparkling without him either. In a disorderly push at the end of the match, Pedri (86th) and Trincao (90th + 1) missed the opportunity to give a victory to their team, which would have at least saved appearances.
Read also:
Liga: Matchday 16
Liga: The standings
