Barcelona – Espanyol A mediocre Barça give the tip to Espanyol

He was aiming for a sad end and so it was. With an impotent Barcelona asking for the time against an Espanyol who showed more pride than football the day he certified his descent to the Second losing at the Camp Nou 1-0. Espanyol loses the category because of how bad things have been done, not because of what they did yesterday at the stadium of the eternal rival. But the photo of the descent will take the photo of the Camp Nou and the fireworks, a metaphor for the Blaugrana speech. Very little football and a lot of propaganda that allows him to continue dreaming of the championship.

It seemed that the party had to be a sacrifice coke from Espanyol at the Blaugrana altar, because after listening to Setién in the previous talk with that sufficiency that Barça was already an unbeatable machine after removing Villarreal, one had the feeling that something had been lost at Barça that only the coach could see.

LaLiga Santander

* Data updated as of July 9, 2020

Against Barcelona, ​​Espanyol put what was required of him in the tragic times he lives and that await him: pride. Rufete, aware that Barça has very serious problems as soon as the spaces are closed in the middle and plays without Ansu or Riqui, set up a three-center defense that paralyzed the Blaugrana game throughout the first half.

But Espanyol did not just defend themselves, after granting the ball to the Blaugrana team, he knew how to go out dangerously against the counter. After ten minutes, Ter Stegen had to conjure an arrival from Embarba, at 16, Marc Roca shot from afar and on the verge of the end of the first part, Ter Stegen saved Lenglet's own goal after a counter by Dídac Vilà, whose rejection sent the parakeet himself to the base of the post.

LaLiga Santander

* Data updated as of July 9, 2020

On the local side, the ball went to three an hour, nobody broke on the outside, Suarez missed more passes than usual, Messi started thick and only Griezmann moved with any sense.

From the outset, Rufete had won the game against Setién in the same way that Espanyol's shame could and more than Barça's desire to go for LaLiga. The thing was to see if the gasoline lasted for the parakeets and if Barça changed the drawing of the match.

The move on the Blaugrana bench was swift and Ansu entered the field in Semedo's place, passing Sergi Roberto to the right-back with a system change that lasted five minutes. The time that the VAR called the referee to change the yellow to red and sent off Ansu after hitting Calero with the iron after touching the ball.

Espanyol put themselves in a superiority that lasted two minutes. The time in which the same play was repeated but in reverse. Pol Lozano entered Piqué with the cleats and the VAR called the referee again to change the yellow for the red.

With the game insane in a duel of ten against ten, Griezmann's mischief was the one that prevailed. Heel to assist Messi, reject the defense and the dead ball in the area was fished by Suárez to open the scoring and, incidentally, the Espanyol pit.

The goal was both a slab for Espanyol and a respite for Barcelona, ​​who tried to sleep the game looking for punctual punches such as a Messi volley shot that served Diego López to make an impressive stop while from outside the stadium a castle of fireworks that illuminated the goal of the North Goal. And no, there was no verbena in Barcelona.