The FC Barcelona has given an important and necessary step forward in this last stretch of the season, especially in the defensive section. They were suffering a lot in the shrinkings and left the feeling that, in two or three touch, the rival could plant with a lot of ease in the small area to generate occasions that, largely of the cases, finish in goal.
The defensive fragility had been more than notorious for a Barça that fit in almost all his parties of LaLiga, but that now has left some feeling of solvency that has allowed them add, exactly, 403 minutes without fitting goals. It was Iago Sails in Balaídos the last that won to Marc-André ter Stegen in the goal and, since, have accumulated four consecutive parties with the fence in zero.
In front of the Getafe (4-0), Athletic Club (0-0), RCD Mallorca (1-0) and Athletic of Madrid (0-3), the Barcelona group has been able to leave a very optimum version in the retaguardia. The paper of the guardameta of Mönchengladbach has been key, but also the changes in the defensive saga. Pau Cubarsí and Ronald Araújo have turned into leaders 'silent' in the final metres and constantly are receiving helps of the player that position like mediocentro. The team is defending en bloc and do more difficult that the rival can confine with ease in the small area.
The Athletic could not 'retar' to Ter Stegen
Against the Athletic of Madrid, in the first compasses of the meeting the Barça felt very uncomfortable and saw forced to replegarse and live near of his area to defend the attempts of the group 'colchonero' to confine in the area of Ter Stegen. They moved the balloon of a side to another, but without effectiveness. Orn finish diverted of Pablo Neighbourhoods was the only that 'concerned' to the defence culé, that did not allow neither a shot to the arch in the first 45 minutes of the clash.
In the second half, with 0-2 in the marker, the venues looked for to step advance and, during a brief stretch, kept to the culés in own field. Had a double occasion that seemed allocated to colarse in the goal, but Ter Stegen appeared like hero without layer to avoid that they discounted. Blocó A finish of Marco Llorente and, in the refuse, Memphis connected a finish point-blank that it also commanded was the one of Mönchengladbach.