السبت، 12 ديسمبر 2015

Home » » Barcelona blows 2-goal lead, draws 2-2 vs. Deportivo

Barcelona blows 2-goal lead, draws 2-2 vs. Deportivo

By  12:47 م  No comments

In this column, Xoel Càrdenas gives you his take on FC Barcelona's 2-2 draw vs. Deportivo on Saturday night.

BARCELONA — It seemed like a win for FC Barcelona for 75 minutes, then the defense slipped up and allowed two late goals, as Deportivo de La Coruña and Barcelona ended in a 2-2 draw at the Camp Nou on Saturday night.

Luis Suarez had a chance in the fifth minute, but his shot went wide. Claudio Bravo made a huge save on a Jonathan one-on-one in the 15th minute.

Lionel Messi's nice curling shot was saved by Lux in the 31st minute. Messi got the opening goal in the 39th minute, as he took a 28-yard free kick and absolutely buried a golazo that Lux couldn't do a thing about it. Via @MessiStat: Leo Messi has now opened the scoring in 100 Barcelona matches. Golazo de Leo!

Suarez with a great play in the 51st minute to set up Sandro Ramirez, but the kid was unable to get to the ball in time to get a shot off. Jordi Alba found Suarez for what appeared to be the second Barcelona goal in the 56th minute, but the linesman called Luis offside.

Ivan Rakitic made it 2-0 in the 62nd minute, as he sent a rocket from outside the box low and towards the far post. Crackitić!

Sergi Roberto returned to the pitch in the 72nd minute, replacing Andres Iniesta. Depor's Lucas Perez made it 2-1 in the 77th minute as he escaped the Barcelona defense got his 11th goal of the season.

Munir had a great chance at goal in the 80th minute, but can't rebound it into the back of the net. Deportivo equalized in the 86th minute, as Alex Bergantiños got the goal with a beautiful finish.

A deserved point for Deportivo. A third consecutive draw for FC Barcelona.

FT: Barcelona 2-2 Deportivo

Xoel's Take

It was understandable to see Barcelona drop points in a tough place like Mestalla last week. It is not understandable and not acceptable to drop points after you have a two-goal lead in the 75th minute at home, period.

A waste by FC Barcelona against Deportivo. Barça looked like Manchester United out there.

I give full credit to Depor for their match. They played very well, put pressure on the Barcelona defense from the start, didn't give up and got their reward in the end. Depor is not a poor side, but we all expected more out of Barça.

As for the Barcelona defense, it was arguably their worst performance of the season.

Javier Mascherano looked like he lacked focus. He wasn't sharp, the concentration wasn't there and Depor at him up. Gerard Pique wasn't bad, and he can't bail out his teammates all the time. For Pique and Mascherano, it was their 100th match as a duo in the Barcelona back line.

Once again, Luis Enrique brought in Jeremy Mathieu, and once again, Mathieu is a complete waste for this team.

While Sergio Busquets did make a key mistake late in the match, let's not blame him for one error after playing so well so far this season.

For me, what was disappointing was the fact that Luis Suarez didn't make a bigger statement in the match. Yes, perhaps his called offside goal was wrong, but for me, I needed to see more of Suarez in this match —€” especially with Neymar out and after resting during the week.

What was once a four-point lead in La Liga over Atletico Madrid and a six-point lead over Real Madrid has now faded away. The past two weeks have shown that even the best team in the world can falter. There's always room for improvement, and it's now up to Luis Enrique to bring out the best in his player.

A trip to Japan and the FIFA Club World Cup calls. If I were Lucho, I'd tell the players to think about this draw and their performances over the past two weeks. The long flight to think about things may help motivate the players.

My long-term worry is not the offense; it's the defense, as it's always been. We always hope the defense doesn't break, only bends occasionally. Against Depor, the defense broke horribly and at the worst time.

Lastly, the offense scored two goals from outside the box. Any team won't always win like that. More is needed. Sandro and Munir had chances to grab a goal, but again, they disappointed.

La Liga is never easy. FC Barcelona could have made it a bit easier over the last few weeks, but once again, it's not in the cards.

Time to use the draw as motivation, perform impressively, go to Japan and win a fifth title in 2015.

Visca!

Xoel



from Barca Blaugranes - All Posts http://ift.tt/1lWEhYX
Categories: 

0 التعليقات:

إرسال تعليق

.