Amadeu García Barcelona
Barcelona
Updated Saturday, March 30, 2024-23:08
Classification This is the League
Without much stress, but without fanfare. This is how Barça ended up beating Las Palmas in a match that had
its main protagonist in
Raphinha
. The Brazilian not only scored the solitary goal that earned the Blaugrana the victory, but he also laid the foundations for it by forcing the expulsion of Álvaro
Valles
, always vital for the Canaries, both between the sticks and when looking for the goal. combinative game. [1-0: Narration and statistics]
Initially,
Xavi
, who had to watch the duel from the stands to serve the first of his two-match suspension for his expulsion against Atlético, preferred to leave
Araujo
on the bench. Although the center-back exercised with apparent normality along with the rest of his teammates in Friday's session, the possible fatigue accumulated as a result of his trip to be with Uruguay in the last national team call, together with some discomfort in the right muscle, would be the reasons that led the Barça coach to keep him in the chamber at the start of the duel. Who has become a completely indisputable player in his schemes, of course, is
Pau Cubarsí
. A central defender who, despite his youth, transmits more than absolute tranquility when he has the ball at his feet.
Barça did not have too many concerns at a defensive level. Las Palmas, in fact, rarely came close to
Ter Stegen
's domain . The most dangerous was a direct free kick by
Coco
, in the first half's stoppage time, which ended up coming very close to Barcelona's goal. In attack, the Blaugrana did their best, but were unable to go into the break with a goal in their bag, despite the fact that the ball did end up kissing the net on two occasions. One, from
Lewandowski
's boots
, as soon as the duel began. The other, from Raphinha, near the end of the first 20 minutes. Both went to limbo due to offside, although the second was heavily protested by the locals. The Brazilian would also be decisive in an action that would end up affecting the visitors for the rest of the duel: the expulsion of Álvaro Valles.
The Barça winger, taking advantage of a good through ball from
Sergi Roberto
, was faster than the Las Palmas goalkeeper, always used to acting almost as if he were just another field player, and ended up making a spectacular fall after the clash between the two.
Busquets Ferrer
did not hesitate for a moment and sent Valles to the locker room. The locals, despite having an extra team on the pitch, could not find a way to create clear dangerous actions, even though Lewandowski managed to send a shot to the crossbar and Fermín's long-range shot
was
narrowly missed. the bottom line. The match thus went to half-time with a draw on the scoreboard, after a first half also marked by a few moments of brief but intense downpour.
Joao Felix and Cancelo celebrate Barça's goal with Raphinha.PAU BARRENAAFP
After the restart, Las Palmas sought to slow the pace as much as possible, trying to make the clock work in their favor so they could, at least, catch a draw in Montjuïc. The idea was to try to get Barça's nerves in search of the goal and, who knows, take advantage of some mistake in the defense to hurt them. The plan, however, ended up falling apart relatively soon. Before the hour of play was up, Raphinha, precisely, took advantage of a measured assist from
Joao Félix
, replacing Fermín who was empty on the pitch, to open the way to victory for the Blaugrana.
The goal, always liberating, allowed Barça to redouble its harassment of the visiting area, against a rival who only had to lock in as much as possible and, perhaps, look for some surprise on the counterattack. Joao Félix was able to sign the match, after an assist from
Koundé
, but his shot ended up colliding with the crossbar and the post and the final sentence was left in the pipeline. There was even a new mistake that could have cost the tie. In the evening, however, Lewandowski and
Cancelo
saw yellow cards that will force them to miss the trip to Cádiz due to suspension.