Win of illusion – AS.com

This Barça is only for believers. Every game for Koeman's team turns from lineup to denouement a matter of unshakable faith. It is a set of streaks that is capable of exciting, depressing, falling victim to their own mistakes and re-illusion. Against Alavés he went through all these states and ended happily at a key moment of the season. The 5-1 win over Alavés is a great result that is once again exciting at the gates of the Champions League.

As much as Koeman did not mention Paris Saint-Germain in the previous one, it was clear at the beginning of the duel that Barça had the Champions match on Tuesday very much in mind. And for two reasons, in addition. From the outset, because of the Koerman line-up, which gave Jordi Alba, Dembélé and Pedri a break and reserved Umtiti and Dest. Consequently, Ilaix appeared in the center of the field making his debut in First with Riqui. Two cadets under Busquets while Trincāo got his first title in LaLiga.

It was also noted that the shadow of PSG was on the game because Barça came out with the idea of ​​solving as quickly as possible the commitment thinking about possible breaks with the game already advanced.

The departure of Koeman's team was dizzying. In the first minute of play, Martín avoided Griezmann's goal and after three minutes it was the Portuguese winger. Alavés resisted the departure of Barça, ordered and stabilized the duel by taking it to their land. He closed lines, reduced spaces and made the scenario uncomfortable for Messi. Even Abelardo's men reached out to stretch and visited Ter Stegen's goal, who had to struggle before a shot from Battaglia.

The game was in danger of being a chard dinner for a child. He could roll up and stay on the plate forever if someone didn't give him a shake, because after a spirited start he went into a phase of absolute drowsiness.

It was the young people who brought Barça out of the drowsiness. After half an hour, a progression of Mingueza by the band was controlled by Ilaix, who had the rennet not to rush to assist Trincāo, who scored the first goal.

With the goal against, Abelardo's plan began to spoil and Barça saw the opportunity to close the game before the break. Messi scored the second after Griezmann failed a head-to-head against Pacheco, but the VAR annulled the Frenchman's offside goal at the start of the play. A decision that, even with the frozen image, does a disservice to technology and increases Koeman's anger at this tool.

Barça did not fall after the goal was annulled and if in the first instance it was the young people who moved the game, in the final stretch of the first half it was Messi, who in the 46th minute scored a brutal goal from a left-footed shot from outside the area. Barça had half a job done.

Consequently, Busquets was able to rest in the second half and Umtiti entered the field for De Jong to move to the center of the field.

Barça was once again a victim of its gentle guest syndrome, which every day that he goes to see someone or receives a friend he does so with a gift. In this case it was from Ilaix, who offered the goal to Rioja on a plate that tightened the game.

But the Blaugrana team led by a definitive Messi knew how to react. Trincāo scored the third to conjure the b¡nervios after Leo's play against Pacheco. Messi scored the fourth a minute later again from afar and organized the play so that Junior closed a win that unleashes the illusion.