Bad news for football geeks as two important players from the Barcelona team have been taken down.
The champions league has begun and been in motion but disappointments and sorrows have flourished at the very moment. Netherlands International De Jong has been observed to be carted off after a rough landing as he contested with Unai Gomez. The medical team had to tend to his ankle before sending him off for an analysis to the medical team. The initial inference was that the midfielder would be able to walk off the pitch however the inference had soon to be changed.
The head coach Xavi and the team of Barcelona were taken aback when their troubles were increased a notch as their player Pedri was subbed off right before half-time after the Spaniard seemed to hamper his hamstring during the game.
How grave is the situation?
As per reports, De Jong’s ankle injury is a lot more serious than Pedri’s muscular issue. However both have been scheduled to undergo therapy and necessary tests with the club’s medical team once they return to Barcelona. Xavi has been noted to be quite tensed on the matter of fitness of the two key players at the most critical point of the season.
There have also been rumours that Pedri is likely to be ruled out of Barcelona Champions League in the 16 round second-leg clash against the Napoli team on March 12. Barca have been shown to lost three of their four main midfielders to injury and may need to dig deeper into the issue.
What unfolded during the match?
In no uncertain terms Barcelona had the opportunity to reduce the difference to six points but in order to have that they had to win Bilbao. They had already been eliminated from the Spanish Cup this season. Former Barca coach Ernesto Valverde’s team also seemed to be eager for a victory.
Much to everyone’s surprise in the match Athletic did not pressurise Barcelona as much as they usually do. It has been reportedly noticed that Valerde’s game plan was influenced by the fact that the team did not get sufficient time to prepare notably because of the Copa del Rey match. It was important to distribute the power correctly over the whole match time so that the power did not run out prematurely.
Barcelona had been actively seen to bring the ball to attack through the sides, the first half Kounde and Cancelo had the most touches. The Maroons were easily seen to be penetrated in the Athletic area and created the first goal chance from a pre-set piece from Christensen. By the end of the half hour game, Cancelo could have created a magnificent goal of the season but fell short when Simon secured the defenders and ran into the penalty line while hitting the ball towards the Portuguese. The match witnessed another daring act of Cancelo as he shot almost from the center of the field. The goalkeeper had stepped back to reach out for the ball however it flew out of his gloves and into the goal. The goal was missed only thanks to the amazing clearance by Alvarez from the line.
The final showdown
Athletic tried his best to attack with speed, putting his bet on the speed in the transition phases but nothing precise could be done before the break. Imanol Garcia soon fell and ended up in duel with Kounde and the referee did not show mercy in awarding a penalty. Majority have voted the referee to be right while the Basque defender himself grabbed his rival’s leg. The pressure from the Athletic’s increased on Barcelona as the break came to an end. The game opened and more space appeared. It became increasingly more difficult for the Blaugrana without it’s two important midfielders. After more turmoils and tumultuous journey the match finally reached its cooling point at a scoreless draw. Xavi’s team only had Gundogan and Lewandowski left the field among the attackers who started the match while the scoring chances simply disappeared. The teams were given a chance to fire eight shots and hit the target twice, the tie favoured the competitors of Barca and Athletic.
Will it be a nightmare or a daydream for Barcelona?
What’s to see now would be how Xavi manages to return the team to it’s original shape. The Catalan side would be next seen in action with Mallorca on Friday 8th March. They have a time gap of 9 days before they would be hosting Napoli however the strength of the team would depend on Xavi if De Jong and Pedri don’t recover on time.
