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It was all quite simple: Barça decided to run and Athletic became small as they no longer remembered for more minutes than are admissible at the Camp Nou.

Because, yes, the rojiblanco team has perpetrated exercises of almost voluntary inferiority this season to bore, but in Bilbao a kind of collective self-harm has been imposed by which nothing that happened before

Marcelino's

arrival

actually existed.

To dream sometimes it is advisable to forget.

The conspiracy was forced by the desire to live eternally in this January of good luck, that of the unexpected resurrection, that of the most difficult Super Cup ever, that of the Getafe thrashing, no less than five goals in a single match.

As if Athletic, tachán, were suddenly indestructible.

But, it remains written, last night Barça wanted to run, decided to go out of their way for each loose ball and faced as an inescapable challenge to stop any timid attempt at possession by Athletic.

Koeman

learned

that the contemplative attitude he commanded in the Super Cup final had been a major mistake and he corrected it in the third game between the teams this month.

And from there, equivalent to the effort of the two squads, what prevails almost always is the individual quality of the players.

It is also fair to note that Koeman learned the lesson of La Cartuja well.

The deactivation of Athletic last night, especially during the first half, cannot be understood without the maneuver of placing

De Jong

at the same height as the centrals at the ball exit.

Raúl García

and

Williams

, just two men, could not cope with

Araujo

,

Umtiti

and the Dutchman.

As soon as a teammate came to the aid -when he dared to do it-, Barça advanced and the red-and-white pressure, already unbalanced, lost all its effectiveness.

Simon's good tone

All that cocktail of circumstances left Athletic naked before the immensity of the Camp Nou, resigned to covering gaps in a defense condemned to continually correct itself during a first half in which Barça deserved a greater prize than the one reported by the wonderful free-kick goal. of

Messi

.

Simón

, who is recovering the good tone that made him the goalkeeper of Spain, completed the puzzle of Bilbao's resistance.

"We had a great first half. We deserved one

more

treat

," said a satisfied Koeman.

Barça had everything under control because their superiority dwarfed Athletic.

Only the dribbling of

Dembélé's

efforts

, as scathing on the rival's field as it was indolent on his own, threatened his victory.

Because

Jordi Alba's

own goal

had a generous dose of bad luck, but it was preceded by a ride from

Yuri

that the Frenchman didn't even bother to hinder.

And

Mingueza

, despite his interesting progress -there is the pass for the second goal- is not a side to use and suffers when he finds a dagger like the one from Gipuzkoa, which was the main argument that Athletic seized on in the second half.

Pjanic, unnoticed

It was

Pedri

who was busy filling holes, showing his usefulness when, like yesterday, his offensive talent was overshadowed.

Like I'm not 18.

Sergi Roberto

, back after two months injured, threw him a cable for the final half hour, positioning himself as an interior instead of a

Pjanic

who, as it is becoming usual, went completely unnoticed.

Umtiti

, on the other hand, is reclaiming his hierarchy after two years of intermittent darkness.

On the balance of pros and cons, and beyond the result, the night was profitable for Barça.

And it's second, that doesn't seem like a big deal, but a few weeks ago it was an entelechy.

Five victories in January, full, make it possible.

"It has been a very difficult month, but the team has improved and is very involved in the day-to-day work," Koeman summarized.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

  • Ronald Koeman

  • Raul Garcia

  • Pedri

  • Ousmane Dembélé

  • Jordi Alba

  • First division

  • Copa del Rey

  • FC Barcelona

  • Athletic Bilbao

  • sports

  • soccer

  • Leo Messi

LaLigaSimón opens the doors of San Mamés to a heavenly Messi

LaLigaA divine heel from Pedri in San Mamés

LaLigaThe rebellion of Messi is the rebellion of Barcelona

See links of interest

  • Messi contract

  • 2021 business calendar

  • Spezia - Udinese

  • Barça - UCAM Murcia

  • Chelsea - Burnley

  • Nice - St Etienne

  • Barcelona - Athletic Club