“Unocerismo” is very worthy of the league for Barcelona

The team led by Xavi narrowly beat Osasuna at the Camp Nou in a game marked by the early dismissal of Herrand and in which the last arreón was enough for the Catalans to get another three points. Jordi Alba unblocked the culée in the last moments with a goal that allows them to continue with the fifth gear on towards the alirón that seems closer every time.

“The sooner we become champions, the better,” said the Barcelona coach at the press conference before the match against the Rojillo team, and his sentence resonated with the dressing room, which came out with a knife between its teeth with the aim of intimidating Navarre. Barça stepped onto the Camp Nou pitch with the aim of throwing all the meat on the grill. The same eleven footballers who swept Betis repeated this Tuesday in a line-up that the fans are already beginning to recite by heart and in which the only thing missing is Dembélé, a player who is still being counted on little by little in fear of a possible relapse. The plan was the usual one. Pressure in the opposite field after the loss, quick circulation of the ball and constant overflows from the side thanks to the speed of Raphinha and Balde. It was the latter who generated the first approaches, showing that he has above-average maximum speed, but his crosses did not find the finisher, and when they did, Pedri was not successful in front of goal.

Barcelona found a secret weapon in Balde with which they got hold of Osasuna as hard as granite. The team of Jagoba Arrasate is composed of five defenders, with constant help in the midfield and an indestructible block that led them to an early rescue and placement in the final of the King’s Cup. Everything seemed perfect for them, but Pedri caught the back of the central defenders in an oversight, and Herrando grabbed him before the Canarian headed towards Aitor’s goal. The young centre-back, making his debut at the Camp Nou, saw a straight red card and condemned his team to play the second leg with a player less than an hour, a scenario that did not change the itinerary of the first act for cules. Hardly Pedri’s strike, Raphinha’s free-kick and Araujo’s header got the Catalans going before the break without Gavi, who had to retire early due to injury and gave up his place in the midfield to Ansu Fati.

After the restart, Barça broke the deadlock. Xavi’s players grew more dense as Osasuna conceded meters and this degenerated into an opening few minutes in which the Catalans abused the center side and had great difficulty breaking through the lines. Xavi knew it, who made a revolution in just seven minutes with two substitutions that decided he didn’t like something after 52 minutes without a goal between the sticks. Eric García entered, to start better from the back, and Dembélé, with the express desire of the entire Camp Nou to be the player he was before the injury. That’s the only way Barça could come out of the siesta and be a team that is on the threshold of the championship, and that’s how it was.

The French footballer is not what he was before the injury. It’s almost impossible after three months of inactivity, but he’s still the second player and that’s enough for Barca. He faced his partner, dribbled and in the blink of an eye, Xavi’s men were already up to speed ahead of the last leg of the match. Frenkie de Jong managed to score after Pedri’s cross, Ansu Fati tried unsuccessfully from outside the penalty area, and Dembélé missed the target in a small area when the Camp Nou was already licking its chops. It was the harbinger of the flood that was coming upon those of Arrasate. That rush was too much for the Cup finalist. Lewandowski scored, but his goal was disallowed for offside, and when the game was in the final breath, the ball circled around the field and Jordi Alba, who had recently entered the field, appeared to knock down the wall with a shot at the short stick and turn the Camp Nou who already knows that this League will not escape him.

Technical document:

Barcelona: Ter Stegen, Koundé, Araujo, Christensen (Eric García, min. 52), Balde (Jordi Alba, min. 76), Pedri, Busquets (Ferran Torres, min. 76), De Jong, Gavi (Ansu Fati, min. 36 ) ), Raphinha (Dembélé, min. 52) and Lewandowski.

Osasuna: Aitor, Diego Moreno, Unai García, Herrando, Manu Sánchez, Torró (Juan Cruz, min. 59), Pablo Ibáñez, Iker Benito (Aridane, min. 70), Aimar Oroz, Rubén García (Kike Barja, min. 46) and Chimy Ávila (Kike García, min. 59).

Goal: 1-0: min 85, Jordi Alba.

Referee: Villanueva Church (Galician). He shut out Herrand in the 26th minute.

Incidents: A match corresponding to the 33rd day of the League, played at the Camp Nou in front of 76,061 spectators On Tuesday, Barça took another step towards the League title.