WILL BARÇA BE ABLE TO 'COMPETE' FOR THE LALIGA AGAIN?
Barça's competitiveness and area defense in Bilbao, reasons to believe in the team
The setback in San Mamés leaves a FC Barcelona that had everything in its favor to get fully into the fight for LaLiga, after the 'pricks' of Real Madrid and Girona, very shaken. The story now looks more complicated... and does the culé team have arguments to 'reverse' it?
The FC Barcelona is impredecible, in the well and the bad. To this point of the season is imposble 'trust' of which version can offer the team, because they can happen of 'crush' to his rival and exhibit, as against the Getafe does a week, to remain without arguments, as it happened in Saint Mamés. It is a group with one thousand faces, that has not found the way to the regularity and that no 'believe' the possibility to litigate for trying trace back LaLiga.
The visit to the Athletic Club has left to the discovered the most negative face of a Barça that, as it recognised Xavi Hernández, is missing him ambition and faith. The team saw how his rival shook of the initial pressure and contained the balloon without hardly suffer. In the second part did not try, not even, kick to the arch of Unai Simón that, of moments, went an expectador more. And like this it is very complicated to give him gone back to LaLiga.
They are very few the things that can rescue of a bitter night for the Barcelona. The inferiority in the centre of the field and the 'disappearance' of the attackers were two appearances that kept along the crash. The history could have been worse, this is clear, but had been by the subtle defensive improvement that showed against the bilbaínos.
The point to 'rescue' of a Barça 'slept' in Saint Mamés
That can be, precisely, the appearance to the that 'hold' of a Barça that does not achieve the reliability. Marc-André ter Stegen did not have a lot work in a night in which the defensive saga was very attentive for 'move away' the danger. Iñaki Williams, that saw forced to change of band, could not find comfortable neither surpass to Ronald Araújo in the one against one. Pau Cubarsí went back to be hit and by the bands appeared, when it needed them , Koundé and Cancel.
The Barcelona fulfilled to defensive level and, probably, has been the best news of the night. They cut the series of 13 consecutive parties fitting goal like visitor (all the parties that had contested out of house!) And they contained to a forward that, three days ago, had done party by the expense of the Athletic of Madrid. Already they add two consecutive parties with the goal to zero and can be the big impulse... As long as the team do not take the siesta up, as it happened in Bilbao.
