Good day, everyone, and welcome to my blog. Club football is back in business as the last international break of the year comes to an end. The just-concluded weekend saw some shocking and incredible matches played from the Premier League to La Liga and the top European league. On Saturday, FC Barcelona went head-to-head away from home against Celta Vigo in their La Liga fixture. Celta Vigo has caused a lot of problems for Barcelona for as long as I can remember, especially their captain, Iago Aspas, who starts playing like he is in his prime whenever Celta Vigo plays against Barcelona.
It was a match I hoped Barcelona would go in and secure all three points and they were doing just that until the final ten minutes of the match as the Catalan giant conceded two goals which brought the game into a draw there are some things I noticed from the game which I will be looking into in this post. There is no doubt that Hansi Flick's offside trap has worked successfully since the start of the season, which has been great, but I have noticed it has started to fall apart, and one of the reasons is Gérard Martin, who is Balde's backup at the left-back, this season.
Gérard Martin is among the La Masia players that Hansi Flick promoted to the first team this season and for some reason not known to me I have noticed Hansi Flick gives the young lad more game time than the Hector Fort who I think is a much better player than Gérard Martin even as a left back because Hector Fort natural position is a the right back. Gerard Martin was the first to pick up a yellow card in the game and made a reckless tackle towards the end of the second half which should have resulted in a second yellow card that would led to a red card but somehow the referee didn't give him and I was a bit surprised because that foul should be a second yellow card.
Hansi Flick should know by now that starting Gérard Martin is just going to cause more problems for the defense and should instead use Hector Fort in that position. Another thing I noticed in the game is that Barcelona lacked creativity, and that was just because of the absence of Lamine Yamal, who is out due to an injury and won't feature in the Barcelona Champions League match tonight against Brest. Lamine Yamal's absence has shown that he is an important asset for the squad and I just hope he returns soon because Barcelona can't afford to be dropping points now as Real Madrid is already gaining momentum and if they win their game in hand Barcelona will only be leading their rivals by one point on the league table.
Frenkie De Jong is having a tough time in Barcelona this season, and it is just sad to watch, honestly, because I never expected things would fall out like this for the Dutchman. Honestly, I just hope he gets that confidence and form back so he can continue showing the quality he possesses because even with these bad times De Jong is passing through, we can't deny the fact that he is a talented player. The season is still long, and hopefully, we will get to see the best of De Jong soon.
Jules Kounde has been incredible in his position since last season up till now, and although it was his fort that caused the goal, I won't say he deserves any slander. Jules Kounde will learn from this mistake and try to improve on it. Barcelona will be playing against Brest tonight and I can tell it's going to be a tough game. Brest has been good in the UCL this season and is sitting in fourth place on the UCL table. It will be an interesting match and I hope Hansi Flick and the boys make a statement tonight with a win. So, guys, that will be all for now. Thanks for stopping by and have a good day.
Posted Using InLeo Alpha