BarcelonaThe return of the Champions League to Montjuïc was also the return to the path of triumph for a Barça that added the first victory without Lamine Yamal. The Blaugrana team has won four games in a row in the continental competition and remains installed well above the leading positions. Hansi Flick stretched the ears of his players after squandering in ten minutes a cultivated 0-2 in Vigo and, before receiving Brest, he returned to the speech of support for his wards. The stick and the carrot. The team responded with a good game, pressing better, being more intense, being more focused and also moving the ball better. Against Brest, one of the revelations of this Champions League, Flick’s Barça returned.
It was necessary to add three at a time in order not to set off any alarms. Without the crowd, punished by Joan Laporta until they pay the 21,000 euros of accumulated fines that the club claims, the stadium was quieter than usual. The fans would not get excited until the second half, when it seemed that Barça were stuck in the search for a second goal which, finally, would arrive after a genius from Dani Olmo. This made a Montjuïc beat again in which, for a good while, the 2,600 fans of Brest made themselves heard more than the Blaugrana, despite the fact that the entrance was again good, with 46,317 spectators. The French supporters, one of the surprise guests in this new Champions League format – they finished third last year in Ligue 1 – did not want to miss the opportunity to play against Barça.
His team pitched battle for quite some time. The French team is a great unknown in Europe. In recent years it has experienced a great evolution thanks to its sporting director Grégory Lorenzi and its coach Éric Serge Roy. The Champions League is a prize and they went out to defend themselves as if they were a brave village in Gaul, and Barça, the colossus of the Roman Empire. Faced with a rival who knows how to protect himself – he arrived at Montjuïc having conceded one goal less than Barça -, the Blaugrana gave up the rock and roll to grind stone from the calm. Flick’s team, led by an excellent Pedri approaching the base and staggered with Casadó, dominated the ball. He monopolized it in fact, exceeding 70% of the possession.
Pedri, the best of Barça
The Canarian midfielder was responsible for moving the ball now here, now there. He did this through targeted controls, delicious feints and changes of direction that were caresses of the ball. Raucha was in charge of Raphinha, trying diagonals from outside to inside from a right wing in charge of providing depth in attack. The first chance went to Raphinha, who needed just seven minutes to load his left leg and try the first shot. The captain was the one who best interpreted how to attack, while Olmo’s presence was missing, who would recover with a goal in the second half.
To open the can, it took the magic of an excellent Pedri. The footballer from Tegueste, who turned 22 this Monday, not only directed his team as if he were the conductor of an orchestra, but he was sick of recovering balls. He was productive in every way. Also in the manufacture of the first goal. His was the assist for a Lewandowski who, outside the small area, was attacked by the goalkeeper Bizou. The Pole was in charge of transforming a maximum penalty into a double prize: it was his 100th goal in the Champions League.
Barça saw their dominance rewarded, but, despite the fact that Fermín would have a free shot to extend distances before the break, it would be achieved with a short result. Brest, which knows how to defend itself in an emergency, managed to reach the half alive. The referee also helped, disallowing a pass from Lewandowski looking for the solo run of Raphinha just before going through the dressing room tunnel.
In the second half, Barça continued to play good football. Fermín, who didn’t have the day, missed another free kick. The second goal did not arrive and the fans abandoned their initial apathy to start cheering. Gerard Martín made up for his bad minutes in Vigo by timing a move up the left side and showing more daring. His was the assistance of an Olmo who showed that genies, sometimes, are enough to rub the lamp once and appear. In a very discreet game from Terrasse, he invented a goal that allowed Barça to seal a victory that Lewandowski, in addition, would culminate with a double and his 22nd goal this season.
