Madrid (AFP)
Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann get along again: both scorers, the Argentinian superstar and the French world champion allowed Barça to sweep Betis Sevilla 5-2 on Saturday and recover on the 9th day of La Liga.
Barça, who remained in four games without a win in the league, temporarily climbed to 8th place in the standings, 6 points behind the leader, Real Sociedad, and 5 behind their great rival, Real Madrid (2nd).
After Ousmane Dembélé (25th) opened the scoring on an overpowering strike from the left, Messi, a substitute at kick-off, only needed three minutes after coming into play at the break to offer a ball perfect goal to Griezmann (49th), who had previously missed a penalty (33rd).
Despite the equalizer at 1-1 from Antonio Sanabria just before halftime (45th + 3) and the reduction in the score of Loren (73rd), the red card inflicted on Aissa Mandi for a goal ball from Dembélé blocked from arms on his line buried the hopes of Betis.
Messi only had to drive the point home by transforming the penalty (61st) and then doubling the stake (82nd) twenty minutes later, and the young Pedri (17) sealed the score at the end of the match (90th) for his first goal this season.
This meeting should have allowed Griezmann to finally show himself in his best light, without suffering from the shadow of Messi ... But it is the entry of the Argentinian star that put the French in the spotlight.
Omnipresent at the start of the game with two strikes that grazed the two goalposts of Claudio Bravo (5th, 11th), "Grizi" even kicked the ball out of frustration, after seeing an umpteenth attempt touch the post and go out, to the 23rd.
His frustration was then accentuated: after half an hour of play, Ansu Fati was caught in the area and caused a penalty.
Jordi Alba grabs the ball, but an order from the bench summons him to let Griezmann hit his first penalty in the Blaugrana colors.
The Mâconnais sets off ... but his shot is deflected by Claudio Bravo, with whom he had shared five seasons at Real Sociedad (2009-2014).
- Messi, upsetting -
Alba helplessly witnesses this scene, removes her hands from her knees to rest them on her face ... which augurs a growing unease.
But three minutes after Messi's entry into play, the Pulga (chip, in Spanish) serves a goal on a plateau to Griezmann: on a genius inspiration, Messi lets a ball slip into the box for the French world champion, who only has to push him into the empty cages.
A goal that should allow the French to dispel his doubts just before joining the Blues, after a mixed start to the season and a first 2019-2020 season in Catalonia not up to his talent.
To see Griezmann's smile and his celebration in the arms of his Argentine captain, rumors of disagreement between the two stars seem far away now.
Ditto for Ousmane Dembélé, who is coming back in force after a season undermined by repeated injuries to the quadriceps of both legs last year.
The French winger took advantage of this match to unlock his goal counter in La Liga, with a cannonball sent from the left into the cages of Bravo (25th) on a Griezmann offset.
Griezmann, Messi, Dembélé, Pedri, Fati ... If the satisfactions are numerous on the offensive plan, where Barça has found his brillo, Koeman has however something to worry about in defense: the Catalans, completely dissociated behind, offered wide open spaces for the Andalusians, who came back twice in the match.
© 2020 AFP