There are names that seem predestined, that come like a wink, like fallen from the sky, that find you at the moment they are like a glove. Barcelona plays at the Da Luz stadium and the name of the Benfica house could not be more suitable after on Sunday a ray of hope illuminated the Camp Nou and marked the way forward this season and in the future to recover the brightness with which the Blaugrana club dazzled the world of football in the past.
Ansu Fati and his quarry colleagues who accompany him have turned on the light in a Barcelona that was in the dark. Paradoxically, the light bulbs went out for good a year and 45 days ago when Bayern smashed him at 2-8 at Da Luz. Koeman’s Barça, who came to the bench after that debacle, has sought to rise from its ashes ever since. Only now does he seem to have discovered the light bulb, which is nothing more than the invention that always worked: Masia and an uncomplexed game.
The end of the Bayern cycle
Ansu Fati has turned on the light of a Barcelona that was in darkness since they went out a year and 45 days ago
The Blaugrana team returns to the scene of the worst European night in its history. Fati, then, was a promise of the quarry in the shadow of Messi, Suárez or Griezmann. He entered in the absence of 20 minutes with a 2-5 on the scoreboard. He lived dishonor in the first person without having any guilt. Today, the forward, just 18 years old, is the spark of an incipient Barça, the leader of a generation that appeared in society against Levante in the League and now wants to reveal himself in the Champions League.
Koeman calls for caution with Fati. “I think the player is missing a lot. He has been injured for more than 10 months. Yesterday (by Monday) I was very tired. Emotionally it has been a huge impact since his family was in the field – the father, mother and sister have also flown to Lisbon. We will try to give him more and more time in the games but it depends on how he is doing ”.
A bottom in trouble
Better to score tonight so that the horizon does not blacken again now that the outlook is stable
In Da Luz, Barcelona got into a dangerous tunnel that led to a monumental change in the cycle (the president, the coach, the captain and several stars fell) and in Da Luz they can get out of the problem that was the defeat on the first day, again against Bayern. Nobody contemplates not being in eighths. So better score tonight so that the horizon does not blacken again now that the outlook is stable.
Just in case, Ronald Koeman preferred to downplay the duel, despite the fact that the defeat would leave him with 0 points. “It is the second game of the six (of the group stage) and it can never be decisive. Impossible ”, he pointed out.
Veterancy, Benfica’s weapon
The young blaugrana are going to find a full-fledged team with players with a career such as Vertonghen, Otamendi, Weigl, João Mário or Pizzi
The Dutch coach wants to give continuity to the victory against Levante, the return and the birth of the new fifth of the Gavi, Mingueza, Eric Garcia and Nico González, although he also recovers Frenkie de Jong, Pedri and Sergi Roberto. “It was a good day: we won, we played a great game, without the ball we were perfect and Ansu scored the third,” the coach congratulated. This performance has served as an injection of self-esteem and to calm the environment.
Lisbon is a land of change. Benfica has been very present in Barcelona’s history as turning point . After the defeat in the Berne final, the club parted ways with Luis Suárez and suffered a decade of hardship. In April 1992, with Koeman in the team, a victory over the red box gave the ticket to Wembley so that Barça’s relationship with the European Cup could be definitively fixed. A victory against Jorge Jesus’ men would make the Blaugrana day-to-day more resplendent and clearer. But Koeman’s young bet is going to find a full-fledged team, leader of his league and with players with a career in major leagues such as Vertonghen (Tottenham), Otamendi (City), Weigl (Dortmund), João Mario (Inter) or Pizzi (Athletic). The clash of styles is guaranteed.
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