Leganés continues the bleeding of Barça
Flick’s team lost again at home, giving more options to the leadership of Madrid and Atlético
MADRID, Dec. 15 (EUROPA PRESS) – FC Barcelona lost (0-1) this Sunday against CD Leganés on matchday 17 of LaLiga EA Sports, its second loss in a row at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys and against rivals from the goes down, failing again in an irregular fight for the lead.
Hansi Flick’s men, suspended and unable to press on the wing, conceded the goal after four minutes, from Sergio González in a corner kick, and did not turn the score around in front of their audience in a surprising way like two weeks ago against the UD Las Palmas. After Real Madrid’s draw in Vallecas on Saturday, Barça did even worse in a bad league dynamic despite being first.
The table is deceptive in Flick’s team, first with 38 points, the same as Atlético, compared to Madrid’s 37, although with one more game and after having a good showing in the last games: a victory in six League games. After Dortmund’s effort and, surely, somewhat confident with the visit of a humble Leganés, Barça failed against the strong effort behind the Madrid team.
Sergio’s unmarked header made it clear that the night was not going to be peaceful for the locals. The ‘Lega’, which added three golden points with a historic bell to move away from the relegation zone, took advantage of the corner kick that caused a clear arrival from Munir. From there, the culé team could have taken the hint to look for the rival goal but they had no aim.
Dmitrovic excelled with a handful of worthy interventions but Robert Lewandowski had two shots at will and almost from point-blank range to have made it much more difficult for the rival goalkeeper. Raphinha also found himself with the goalkeeper and the crossbar, while Lamine Yamal, who suffered an early ankle tackle, was not the same. The truth is that the positional attack, with Leganés locked in their field, was not good for any of the Barça players.
Dani Olmo wanted to offer solutions from the inside, but he lacked precision and also missed a very clear one, and it was Pedri who acted as a lighthouse. Barça accumulated chances to even have come back, but at half-time they fell behind, with the danger of rushing into a crowded defense as the minutes passed.
In the second act it was confirmed that it was not Lewandowski’s or Olmo’s day and it was Jules Koundé who had the best local options, already desperate. Borja Jiménez’s men wanted to advance the defense, but the spaces behind were too much of an advantage for a Barça that seemed incapable if the ‘pepineros’ stayed down. The changes didn’t work for Flick either: a Ferran on a roll, Fermín, Pau Víctor, nothing worked against a concrete Leganés.
Koundé missed the penultimate shot and Fermín had it in stoppage time, but Sergio González took it between the sticks, raising his arms knowing that he had secured a major victory for those from the south of Madrid. A ‘Lega’ who returned to the First Division last summer and plans to stay, while Barça already needs the Christmas holidays or to urgently recover its forcefulness in the areas.
TECHNICAL SHEET.
–RESULT: FC BARCELONA, 0 – CD LEGANÉS, 1. (0-1, at halftime).
–ALIGNMENTS.
FC BARCELONA: Iñaki Peña; Koundé, Eric García (Cubarsí, min.75), Iñigo Martínez, Balde; Casadó (Pau Víctor, min.81), Pedri, Olmo (Fermín, min.66), Lamine Yamal (Gavi, min.75), Raphinha y Lewandowski (Ferran, min.66).
CD LEGANES: Dmitrovic; Altimira, Sergio Gonzalez, Jorge Saenz, Tapia (Brasanac, rest), Javi Hernandez; Neyou, Cisse (Raba, min.82), Oscar, Miguel de la Fountain (Diego Garcia, min.59) and Munir (Nastasic, min.59).
–GOL:
0 – 1, min.4, Sergio González.
–REFEREE: Quintero González (C. Andaluz). He cautioned Cissé (min.75) and Javi Hernández (min.95) in Leganés.
— STADIUM: Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium, 39,523 spectators.