Messi stops the fall – AS.com

A goal from Messi stopped the descent into hell for a Barça that had no margin for error and that for 75 minutes fell face-first against Levante. The 1-0 victory against Levante allows stopping the free fall in which the Blaugrana team was plunged, which from these three points can lay a base to repair the cracks in the ship, which are more mental than game as it was demonstrated in a few agonizing final minutes.

Koeman was aware that he was risking it after the last results and like so many others who were in a similar situation in his position before, between revolutionizing the team and betting on the supposedly safe, he opted for the second option. The Dutch coach had claimed in the previous one a step ahead of the team's reference players and in line with this approach, the Dutchman lined up the ‘sacred cows’ that look more like ‘tired cows’. Up to seven of the protagonists of the Lisbon debacle (eight if we count Coutinho) were starters against Levante.

What Koeman did vary was the arrangement of his pieces on the pitch. With De Jong more off the hook offensively, leaving Busquets as a central midfielder, while ahead Messi, Braithwaite and Griezmann exchanged positions against a Coutinho who once again perpetrated a monument to nothing.

Levante came out brave, aware that when you play against Barça, the tactic often comes down to waiting for the Blaugrana to be distracted. The failure was not long in coming, but in Dest's mistake on the mark, De Frutos did not accept when it came to aiming at Ter Stegen in what could have been 0-1.

It took Barça to recover from the initial shock, and when it did, it was with more honor than order. In addition, Aitor showed off a shot from Braithwate, a header from Griezmann that Lenglet sent to the clouds after the rejection of the visiting goalkeeper and a new shot from point-blank range by Griezmann. Of Messi, almost nothing. His free-kicks either crashed into the barrier or came meekly into Aitor's hands and when De Jong gave him an advantage on a counterattack, his shot was gruesome.

Facing the second half, Koeman had to decide between persevering in the plan or shaking the tree of a game in which he had chances, but in no case did it give a sense of government.

The first measure was to set the Dane as a center forward and the second to withdraw Busquets to enter Pedri. De Jong assumed the helm of the team, Pedri energized the attack, Barça raised revolutions, but the goal was resisting.

Paco López refreshed the team with a triple change as soon as he saw that the tie was maintained at zero 25 minutes from the shore. Levante were looking for legs and Barça were beginning to rush. Trincão entered for Coutinho in an attempt to trade hope for foam.

Aitor again showed off against Messi, who seemed denied in front of goal and Braithwaite wasted the only corner kick that Barça managed to win by overlooking. But Barça did not give up, that rebellion in the face of misfortune was the best weapon of a Barça that, in the absence of clairvoyance, threw away pride. Braithwaite and De Jong stole a ball and served Messi the ball that served the Argentine to scare ghosts and open the scoring.

Barça had a maturity test ahead of them. to maintain the meager, but fair result and not crash again in the last corner. Koeman, without manias, retired Griezmann to play the last minutes with Umtiti and thus manage to stop the fall to hell asking for the time before the Levante corners.