Barcelona are now a full six points clear at the top of La Liga after a huge 3-1 win on the road against Sporting Gijón, winning the game-in-hand against the Asturians and taking a giant step towards the league trophy. Here are three takeaways from another key victory.
1. Barça played a complete game
Yes, there were a few issues in transition and some underwhelming performances individually, but it's safe to say the Blaugrana had a good overall game. They knew Sporting would sit back and defend as much as possible, and they were tactically prepared and showed good patience to break the deadlock. The 'MSN' trio was alive and moving all over the place, the full-backs were also active and the passing was sharp. While the goals were scored in moments of individual brilliance, the stars had good support from the whole team and didn't need to do everything by themselves. It's good to have the best players in the world on your side, but sometimes you need the entire team doing well.
2. Barça are the Shaquille O'Neal of football
Even those of you who don't follow other sports might know who Shaquille O'Neal is. A hilarious, great personality on TV today was perhaps the most dominant center in the history of basketball. Shaq was so much better and stronger than his peers that it was impossible to stop him. He had skills on top of his brute force as well, and that made him one of the greatest athletes the NBA has ever seen. But he had one problem: free throws. One of the easiest shots in the sport was the hardest part of the game for O'Neal. For his entire career, he was a terrible free-thrower, and he never improved on that end.
In some ways, that's Barcelona. One of the most dominant teams in football history just cannot have an acceptable conversion rate on penalties. It doesn't matter which of the 'MSN' parts takes spot-kicks, they just don't go in. Messi, Suárez and Neymar have rotated to find out which of them is the best PK taker, and they've found out it's none of them.
Here's the thing, though: the three form such an unstoppable force that will roll over every opponent that the missed penalties almost don't matter at all. Just. Like. Shaq.
3. Barça can lose El Clásico
The fundamental thing about this victory is that the Blaugrana now have a six-point lead over Atlético Madrid and seven over Real Madrid. They've played (and won) both games against the Colchoneros, who can't take points from the Catalans anymore. Madrid still can, and the second league El Clásico is set for April. Even if Los Blancos win at Camp Nou, the difference between them, theoretically, is still four points, and the lead over Atleti would still be three. So, all things normal, the Blaugranes have earned the right to discard a win, with the toughest game of the schedule still to come.
from Barca Blaugranes - All Posts http://ift.tt/1VpvLxC
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