Put Real Madrid to the limit. Arrive at the stadium watching the match of the Whites against Espanyol from the sidelines, avoiding confinements and unpleasant surprises. That’s why Barcelona came to Pamplona: to win and seal Flick’s third League as soon as possible on Lewandowski’s great night, who may be living his last dance as a Blaugrana… or not.
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Because it was the Pole who fueled the joy of the Barcelona fans. He was the one who, after a lackluster match, appeared at the last minute to finish off a cross from Rashford. His goal was pure fuel for Barcelona and, above all, for Ferran Torres, who in the 86th minute caused the Blaugrana fans to shout at the top of their lungs in El Sadar with chants of “champions, champions.”
The victory was meritorious for what it cost, playing without Lamine Yamal. The saying goes that you don’t know what you have until you lose it, and yesterday Barça missed their star a lot. Not so much the suspended Koundé, because Eric García’s versatility is a real gift. With the Martorell native, with Fermín on the left wing, and with Raphinha on the bench, the players united in midfield. There was desire and the best attitude on the first championship ball of the five that Barça under Flick had, returning to Osasuna’s field thirsty for revenge. It was here that the coach suffered his first defeat as Barça’s manager.
His players, a year more mature, had a clear theory and the strengths of a very consistent Osasuna in defense whose premise in attack was to first take the ball to one of the wings before crossing to look for their forwards, yesterday Rubén García and Raúl Moro. At least in the early stages, Barça did not let the rojillos breathe, pressing with the protagonism of Pedri and Gavi, with Olmo collecting balls inside the area and taking responsibility in attack. With Rubén García clearing crosses from Fermín. With Lewandowski connecting with Olmo and shooting from the edge of the area, although with too much power. After that, until the goal, the Pole disappeared. Just like Roony, unable to take advantage of Lamine’s absence to grow. The Swede barely got encouraged with a weak shot from the edge that posed no problem for Sergio Herrera, well positioned under the posts.
And Osasuna grew stronger. Raúl Moro, chosen to replace the injured Víctor Muñoz, applied his coach’s script by crossing a ball served by Rosier down the left wing. Luckily, there was an imperial Cubarsí there to establish himself as the undisputed leader of the Blaugrana defense and cut the ball at the edge of the area.
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Same script with Joan García. When Barcelona lowered their intensity, when Gavi rushed with a foul as unnecessary as it was relevant on Moro, which cost him a yellow card, and when Pedri couldn’t organize his team’s losses, there was the Sallent goalkeeper to leave Budimir breathless, a two-goal scorer last season, a tactics obsessive and a faithful believer. This time, despite his attempts from the edge, neither one nor the other helped him.
When Barcelona was at its worst, halftime arrived. The draw was not bad for them. Even so, they kept insisting through Eric’s forward runs and Olmo prolonging the cross with his head. The Terrassa native, a midfielder who has always been known for scoring goals, put his hands on his head when Catena got in his way.
It was the moment Flick chose to start making changes. He took off Olmo, as well as Gavi and Roony. He called De Jong to help Pedri and changed the formation, with Ferran and Rashford as wingers and Fermín returning to the attacking midfield. Rashford got frustrated with a cross that found no finisher. Ferran found Pedri inside the area, but he ended up on the ground after a struggle with Boyomo. Time was running out. Nothing was happening. When was Barça’s last goalless draw? The answer was easy: with Flick, it had never happened.
On the visiting corner, the fans sang the Madrid “boti boti boti qui no boti.” Trying to encourage their team in the deafening Sadar. And Rashford arrived, at the last moment, making it clear that Barça under Flick should never be given up on. The Brit directed the ball with a measured cross. There was Lewandowski to finish the matter. For a reason Flick kept him in the team. The squad fed off that goal. And Ferran, after a great pass from Fermín into space, finished to sign the 0-2. Neither Raúl García’s goal nor the eight minutes of added time changed the plan. Barça held on. They threw themselves to the ground. They celebrated the victory. The fans stayed in their corner, losing their voices from so much joy.
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It’s within reach. The 29th League. Flick’s second.
