Barcelona recorded another goalless draw for the second week in succession, lowering their lead down to 11 points.
Table of contents
Match Preview – Getafe vs FC Barcelona ( Laliga Matchday 29)
First Half
Credit: https://twitter.com/barcastuff_idn/status/1647583676425961473
Barcelona went with the usual 4-3-3 formation, but with an unusual tactic of Alba starting on left back and Balde as a false winger on left.
Just 2 minutes in, Gavi received the first yellow of the game after dropping Enes Unal, who he grabbed by the shirt. Then sixteen minutes later, Roberto, who began at right back, got injured and was replaced by Eric Garcia.
Barcelona had their first genuine chance to take the lead in the 25th minute. However, neither Raphinha’s nor Balde’s shots found the goal as they both struck the woodwork.
Afterwards, in the 42nd minute, Alderete was given a yellow card for elbowing Lewandowski, whose header was later saved by Soria in the 46th.
Teams headed into halftime with a 0-0 score line.
Second Half
After a scoreless first half, the second half began with Kessie’s volley getting saved by David Soria in the 53rd minute. Then, in the 57th minute, Damiarez received the third yellow card of the game for a stomp on Gavi.
The game progressed, and in the 68th minute, Xavi made a double substitution, replacing Alba and Kessie with Fati and Torres. Then, 15 minutes later, Barcelona had another clear chance to take the lead, but David Soria remained firm once more.
Pablo Torre replaced Raphinha in the 87th minute as Barça’s fourth substitution, but he was not able to make a difference as the game ended 0-0 after four minutes of extra time.
Our Thoughts
Last night, our midfield was dead in the absence of Pedri and De Jong, highlighting the need for a playmaker like Gundogan or Bernardo Silva. Busquets appears to be losing his magic touch as he ages, while Kessie and Gavi, who are box-to-box midfielders, are not posing enough threat to the opposition. We first believed our midfield was good enough that we don’t need any upgrades, but these horrible performances are convincing us that we need to improve our squad depth even more.
The next primary source of concern is a lack of productivity among forwarders. It was happening even before Dembele’s injury. When we look at the score lines of our games since January, we can clearly see that the majority of our victories have been 1-0 wins, which is truly shameful by Barcelona’s standards.
These terrible performances may taste awful for us but at the very least, the officials must wake up now and recruit players with adequate promise while offloading those who aren’t good enough to represent Barcelona.
What do you think? Is Barcelona going to bottle La Liga?
