Everyone is saying the game was lost after Fermín’s miss and the nosebleed incident, and while I agree that if that doesn’t happen we probably win, I don’t think that was the only turning point.
It was noticeable that the game became Atlético’s after Rashford and Lewa came on for Ferran and Fermín.
Even after the the incident and going into the second half, Barça still had momentum, control, and dangerous attacks in the second half while Ferran was on the pitch. Ferran’s movement and link-up with Olmo/Lamine were at the center of nearly every threatening attack we had around the 70th minute. We still looked fluid and dangerous. You could even see the hunger in his eyes, followed by the frustration of being benched.
Then Atlético started taking over when Lewa and Rashford came on and barely touched the ball, completely killingour attacking rhythm.
I understand the idea behind bringing on Rashford for crosses and Lewa for heading ability, but that should’ve been a last-10-minutes desperation move—around the 85th minute, especially knowing a lot of stoppage time would be added because of Ruggeri. That’s when you throw on Araujo too and go all-in if needed.
At the 68th minute, though? We were still creating through mobility and combinations, not aerial spam. And more importantly, why play for crosses against an Atlético backline of Lenglet and Le Normand? Those two are much better in the air than when forced to defend runs in behind and dribblers.
It’s the same CB pairing that played against Real in that 5-2, a game where their CBs and Sørloth dominated aerialy but conceded basically every time run in behind or dribbler went against those 2.
Ferran was running circles around them, even after momentum dipped, and his third goal was ruled out for offside. He was in rhythm, full of confidence, and causing constant problems. Flick took off the exact profile Atlético struggled against.
Lewa at this stage simply doesn’t have Ferran’s pace to run in behind, mobility to drag defenders around, and movement to create space for the wingers. Against defenders like Lenglet and Le Normand, that matters more than aerial presence.
And if Flick "really" wanted Lewa on, then keep Ferran on the left instead of Rashford. Rashford has consistently failed to deliver against Atlético. Every time he plays them, he misses at least one clear chance, and this game. Expecting him to suddenly be clinical in that situation made little sense.
by Barcelonafan03
25 Comments
We needed someone to get on to crosses. If Lewa had scored we would have called it a masterclass. Let’s move on 🙁
why exactly was lewa subbed on tho? there were barely any such crosses that yamal or cancelo feed him later on or anything.
and also should have subbed on roony for olmo by 70th min and played yamal as our cam, what roony did within the last mins was crazy
He was good except the one chance he he lost because of a bad touch. Really felt sad,he was so in form yesterday assisting and scoring. He was for that match,could easily see the passion. Why did he have to be subbed for Lewandowski in that match of all. He and Fermin could have made a large difference. They were passionate while their subs looked lackluster tbh.
I knew before the game that Lewandowski will get few minutes and be blamed for the loss as always
Don’t forget he took Raphinha and Pedri off too vs the SAME TEAM last season in CDR and the game ended 4-4 🤦🏻♂️
Funny how no one is calling for Olmo’s head? He deadass missed two open scoring chances. We paying 60m for this trash has to be the biggest scam in the history of Barcelona
The Ferran hate is way too much considering what he’s actually done
I thought this too but Atletico switched their tactic in the second half and started parking the bus. A striker like Lewy who can reach the end of crosses is theoretically more valuable vs someone like Ferran who thrived when spaces were a bit more open in the first half.
Kounde cost us the goal today. Bro was ass marking lookman
Atletico started taking over not because of Rashford and Lewandowski sub lol but because of our dogshit brainless defenders. Those bums are frequently out of position and they are physically weak. Also Pedri’s losing possession led directly to the red card
A tired Yamal on the left wing at the end was definitely not what I wanted to see…
I think we could make yamal play on mid and Rooney in wings that would affected good but as you can see we should have benched main squad in Espanyol match we can see Pedri struggling
Indeed seems like flick had that substitute plan before the match and did it anyway. We hurt them a lot through short playstyle with small passes in small spaces. Crosses and wings were never gonna be the solution. I guess was too hard to see 🙂
I know he misses a lot, but Ferran is still one of our best players on a big night. Just take last season’s copa del rey when he scored a 1-0 winner against Atlético and a late equaliser in the final against Real Madrid when needed. He even scored in the 1st leg against Inter.
Also, his goalscoring is very versatile and opens up spaces for others with his movement. Those goals included crosses, one on ones and random other goals. Additionally, he is a great presser.
I get that he is very bad when not in form, but we need him in the big games.
Agreed
Pedri should’ve been subbed off after the first half. He wasn’t there.
Yes. Leaving Olmo who was doing fck all the whole match (MVP lmao) and taking Ferran out it’s disgusting.
It was another robbery, stolen goal and a penalty or even two. I don’t know if talking about strategy makes much sense, Barcelona played a great game
I think the worst tactical decision was not resting the whole first team against Espanyol. And it showed after minute 60.
You have to pick your battles when you are already 6 points ahead of Real Madrid with only 7 games to go, even if you lose against Espanyol.
Agreed. This is the downside of having a big name like lewa in the bench. In times of need you reach for your most experienced goalscorer. But the reality is the game just didnt really need him at the time. We needed movement and speed, two things lewa just doesnt have anymore.
Definetly something to consider if he renews. He has to set his own expectations thats he may not start or even play in important marches
Fully agreed. Lewa is not the player you want if you are trying to keep to ball and circulate attacks quickly. He should have come on in the last 10 mins to look for a goal from crosses together with Araujo. Also, a big waste to move Yamal to LW in the last minutes, even though Roony was good.
Taking Ferran off, not bringing on fdj earlier – should have even brought on Araujo when sorloth was on
Simple thing flick could’ve done is get ferran into the left take out fermin bring in Lewandowsk, lamine in the center and roony on the right
Not taking it as far as you went, but I feel like Olmo should’ve been substituted earlier
Atletico’s subs changed the game for them. The momentum completely shifted in their favor and we could barely cope with their pressing. Flick should’ve seen this and altered his plan instead of bringing in the two players that are not exactly known for their pressing.
Tbh we really should’ve saved one of Gavi or Fermin for the second half to avoid this scenario. We let them took control of the game and look where that led us to. I was already scared when I saw how the match was going and who were coming on for us and my fear wasn’t unfounded. Then Garcia got his red card and things started looking even more bleak.
I rate Flick as a coach and anyone who doesn’t is crazy. But one of his biggest mistakes this season is not trusting Roony enough. Almost every single time Roony is given minutes, he performed well. What is he supposed to do exactly? Keep in mind we got him on the cheap too. It’s just such a shame that we could lose such a gem of a player because Flick is too paranoid to start him more