Braithwaite week

Overshadowed by stars like Leo Messi, Antoine Griezmann, Ousmane Dembélé or Philippe Coutinho and for new values, from Ansu Fati to Pedri passing through Trincao, Martin Braithwaite's numbers could well be placed on that pedestal. The Dane scored his fourth goal of the season at the Puskas Stadium in the scarce 278 minutes he has played, so his average of goals is the highest (70): an emergency nine in a Barça that lacks a specific player in that demarcation.

In Budapest, the Danish played at the top with Griezmann as playmaker and Trincao and Dembélé on the flanks. His unchecks were taken advantage of by the former Atlético, who thus scored the 0-1 that paved the way for victory. From the Dembélé-Alba connection it was 0-2, traced to the initial goal, although this time the Dane was the finisher with a precise touch with the right. Minutes later, he was the target of the penalty that Dembélé converted to 0-3. Active also in pressure, Braithwaite gave solutions to a solvent and effective Barça.

With hardly any participation in the first leg of the season, Braithwaite has had seven dream days. He played in Kiev and scored two goals in Barça's 0-4 that gave him the mathematical classification. He also scored last weekend against Osasuna (4-0) and on the freezing night of Budapest, in another display of an attack that begins to make things difficult for Koeman, as he himself acknowledged after the game. “I have shown that I can have a place in the team,” said the Dane.

“Lately we have improved things, especially with the ball. We are more effective than at the beginning. There is a lot of competition in attack, there are not only three forwards, there are many more”Said the Dutchman after the match. He praised the “pressure” of his attackers, a concept in which Braithwaite, sacrificed defensively, always gives him a plus.

The 29-year-old Dane arrived last January from Leganés as a resource for a battered attack due to injuries. Last year he participated 406 minutes and only scored one goal, but in these three months he has improved his records. Koeman requested in summer the signing of the forward of the Olympique de Lyon Memphis DepayAlthough for the moment he has to settle for goals from a lethal Braithwaite.