Amadeu Garcia

Updated Friday, March 8, 2024-23:02

Barça, perhaps unintentionally with half a head in Europe, flirted with disaster for many minutes.

That would have meant not getting the three points against Mallorca.

It was very difficult for the Blaugrana to open the can.

Very much.

Until

Lamine Yamal

, with a genius when the game was already entering its final stretch, dissipated the storm clouds.

His shot, with a screw, went almost into the top corner and completely changed the tone of an evening in which he had apparently been lacking inspiration.

The goal, however, also shows one thing: the Blaugrana need more than to rely on shots.

Both to stay as alive as possible in the League and to not throw away the Champions League ahead of time.

Mallorca arrived at Montjuïc with a 2024 full of chiaroscuros.

With four defeats, three draws and two victories to their credit in the League since the start of the year, Javier Aguirre's men were 8 points away from a Cádiz that marked the start of the relegation places, but also just after converting Son Moix in a death trap for Girona.

The Cup, furthermore, has been something else.

Both Girona itself and Real Sociedad can attest to this.

The big unknown was what image he was going to show against a Barça team whose face you never quite know what they are going to show.

Even within the same party.

Xavi

, who had to watch the game from the stands due to suspension, not only ended up largely reinventing his

eleven

in the center of the field, forced by the injuries of

Pedri

and

De Jong

.

Raphinha

, in this case, was in charge of initially accompanying

Gündogan

in the midfield, but the big surprise was up front.

Marc Guiu

, in this case, was in charge of initially taking over from

Robert Lewandowski

.

For two reasons.

In addition to the accumulation of minutes that he has in his boots, the Pole is just one yellow away from suspension and next Sunday it is a visit to the Metropolitano.

The Blaugrana jumped onto the pitch with great enthusiasm.

And, despite the strong visiting defense, they frequently reached the outskirts of the Mallorca area, but with little danger.

Things could have changed a lot if Gündogan had managed to convert

Copete

's penalty on Raphinha, awarded at the request of the VAR.

Rajkovic

, however, hit his poor intention and ended up deflecting his shot.

The Barça relief

The action did not sink the Blaugrana, but it did have a revitalizing effect for Mallorca that began to gain more presence near

Ter Stegen

who was looking to celebrate his 400th game as a Barcelona player by leaving a clean sheet.

The lack of bite on the part of the forwards when it came to finishing their attacks ultimately allowed them to go into the break at least with that objective accomplished.

That, and the ability of young

Marc Cubarsí

to successfully battle any forward, no matter how veteran he is.

And even to provide appropriate corrections when necessary.

Barça took to the pitch after the restart feeling little less than a bundle of nerves.

No matter how much Joao Félix forced Rajkovic to show off at the start, the Blaugrana's offensive production did not even seriously threaten a Mallorca team that was increasingly comfortable on the pitch.

Lamine Yamal, with a left foot shot against the crossbar, gave the first serious warning.

A warning that, in turn, spurred a crowd lethargic due to the cold and the few sensations that their team transmitted.

And things would be even more lively if Lewandowski and Vitor Roque

took to the field

.

But it was Lamine, finally, who broke it to make the score 1-0, with a shot after a cut that went almost into the top corner.

The goal relieved a Barça team for whom the emergencies were beginning to be dangerous.

It allowed him to feel more comfortable.

And he could have been even more so if, in one of his successive arrivals, he had been able to achieve the sentence.

Mallorca, knowing that they could still have some chance of catching at least one point, did not give up at any time and remained faithful to his approach.

Perhaps, looking for some of those disconnections that have cost Barcelona fans so dearly in the current campaign.

Something that, to the relief of Xavi's team, did not again blemish on this occasion a record that, despite everything, could very well be improved.