BarcelonaBarça’s new win in the Champions League. The Blaugrana visited the weak Estrella Roja, who came to the appointment with three defeats in the locker room, and took a 2-5 in which Lewandowski, Kounde and the most decisive teenager on the football planet shone. Next, some hot notes.
Play… and make play. Lamine Yamal turned 17 years and 114 days old on Monday. This is the age at which a certain Messi made his official debut with Barça’s first team. The data highlights the precocity of Rocafonda, who has already become the most unbalancing element of the Blaugrana team. At this point, we already know that he is a top-level soloist, one of those called to mark an era. But the most amazing thing, being so young, is not how he plays, but how he makes those around him play. How he understands the spaces and how he shakes up teammates who, like Lewandowski, were already professionals when he still didn’t know how to walk. It is no coincidence that he is the top assistant in the League and that he participates in almost all of Barça’s offensive plays. If the ball was lava, it wouldn’t burn his feet either. What a prodigy
A full-back. The excitement in Belgrade lasted as long as Lamine Yamal wanted. With the score 1-2, he collected a possession in his own field, galloped vertically with the ball sewn into his boot and sponsored the third Blaugrana goal, the work of Lewandowski after a pass from Kounde. Two minutes later, the Frenchman repeated as assistant in the 1-4, scored by Raphinha. And in the 76th minute, hat trick of assistance to enable Fermín. Let’s stop at this role of the ex-Seville player, consolidated today as one of the best right-backs in Europe after years of self-proclaiming central and frowning when they took him off the axis. Over time, he has proven that he defends the lane with the solvency of an experienced scorer and attacks it with the judgment of a midfielder with good feet. How important it is to have good coaches, Jules. And how useful it is to listen to them.
A period goalscorer. Joan Segarra, Hristo Stoitchkov, Patrick Kluivert, David Villa, Leo Messi, Ivan Rakitić… and Robert Lewandowski. Between the first and the last member of this list are the 700 goals that Barça has scored in its entire history in the European Cup. Segarra scored for the first time in the 1950s. And in Belgrade, in the first visit of the Catalan team to the Petit Maracana in the top competition, Lewandowski opened the seventh hundred. The Pole, moreover, is only one goal away from inaugurating three figures in the Champions League. Only two players have achieved this so far: Cristiano and Messi. When you withdraw, Lewy he will be remembered as an era striker. How lucky to enjoy it at Barça (even if it is with an ascending contract).
Almost one per game. If scoring goals is as important as preventing them, Íñigo Martínez did both in Belgrade. He opened the scoring with a formidable header – he has already scored twice this season – and once again led the risk in defensive coverage. Criticized last year for tending to defend too close to the box, with Flick and his staff is sublimating the orsai technique. With the help of his teammates, he frustrated Mbappé’s good in the classic and did the same with Puado and company in Sunday’s derby. At the Estrella Roja pitch, the home crowd also celebrated a goal before VAR took it off the scoreboard. In total, Barça has already forced 14 goals to be disallowed by disqualifying strikers by inches. It’s almost one per game played. That is why in Madrid there are already those who are asking to make the offside rule more flexible.
