La Liga
AN EXPENSIVE MISTAKE? NO PLACE FOR GRIEZMANN AS BARCELONA TITLE HOPES FADE
Barcelona’s hopes of retaining the Spanish title look to be slipping away after Tuesday’s 2-2 draw with Atletico Madrid, and the decision to leave Antoine Griezmann on the bench for almost the whole game appeared to sum up the malaise which has taken hold in the Catalan capital.
Twice Barcelona led against Atletico at the Camp Nou only to be pegged back and forced to settle for a third draw in their last four La Liga outings which leaves them a point behind leaders Real Madrid having played a game more.
The scenario was a repeat of last weekend, when Quique Setien’s team were ahead twice away at Celta Vigo only to draw 2-2. Real can now go four points clear by beating Getafe on Thursday (July 2), while also boasting the head-to-head advantage over their title rivals.
And yet while Barca desperately needed three points against Atletico, Setien saw no reason to send on Griezmann until the 90th minute.
The French World Cup winner was also only brought on as a late substitute against Celta, but Tuesday amounted to a humiliation for Griezmann against his former club, who sold him for €120 million (S$190 million) last summer.
Sergi Roberto and 17-year-old Ansu Fati had already come on before Setien turned to Griezmann as a last-minute replacement for Arturo Vidal.
When asked about the bit-part role to which his former player was restricted, Atletico coach Diego Simeone’s reply was as cutting as it was short. “Speechless”, said the Argentine.
“It is true that it is hard bringing him on like that, for a player of his level. But the circumstances forced me to do it,” said Setien.
“I could have taken a different decision, not brought him on for example, but you always have the hope that a player like him can win you the game.”
Setien added that he would not be apologising to the 29-year-old and claimed the player would understand why he was left out.
Nevertheless, Setien’s handling of Griezmann can only increase the pressure on the coach, who has not won over those who doubted his ability to succeed at the Camp Nou after he was appointed in January.
Having excelled under Simeone at Atletico, Griezmann always appeared an unnatural fit for Barcelona, wedded to their 4-3-3 formation or variations thereof. The Frenchman looks even more out of place with Luis Suarez back fit to team up with Lionel Messi in attack.
Messi scored his 700th career goal on Tuesday. Griezmann, meanwhile, has just eight goals in La Liga this season, his lowest return since netting seven for Real Sociedad in 2011/12.
He has scored just one league goal in 2020, not enough when you are one of the most expensive footballers of all time.
More importantly for Setien, a third straight title looks beyond Barcelona.
When appointed in January, the 61-year-old ex-Betis coach admitted he could not promise to make his team win. “But I promise that my team will play well,” he said.
They are not even doing that, and it is impossible to watch this Barca side and not long for the glorious football played by Pep Guardiola’s team almost a decade ago now, or even Frank Rijkaard’s dazzling side of several years before that, when Messi was just emerging.
“I am used to finding myself in difficult situations. I might not be as happy as I was at the beginning, but inside I am doing fine,” Setien said, while insisting that the dressing room was behind him.
Time is running out already for Setien, not least because time is running out for Messi to win trophies with Barca.
The Argentine, who has 22 La Liga goals this season, has just turned 33. Missing out on what would be an 11th La Liga crown in 16 years would be one thing, but the pressure is building towards the latter stages of the Champions League, due to be played in August.
Messi and Barca have not won that trophy since 2015. They still need to get through a last-16 second leg against Napoli in order to qualify for the final eight in Lisbon.
-AFP
Barcelona turned the Clasico into a coronation on Sunday, swatting aside Real Madrid 2-0 at a roaring Camp Nou to claim their 29th LaLiga title.
Hansi Flick’s side moved to an unassailable 91 points, 14 clear of second-placed Real with three games remaining.
The triumph capped a dominant campaign in which they lost only four league matches. Villarreal are third on 69 points.
Real arrived needing victory to keep their wafer-thin title hopes alive, but Marcus Rashford crushed those aspirations just nine minutes into the game.
Antonio Rudiger fouled Ferran Torres just outside the box, and Rashford bent a superb free kick into Thibaut Courtois’ top-left corner, giving Barcelona the early lead and sending the home crowd into raptures.
Nine minutes later, Barcelona doubled the lead. Fermin Lopez crossed into the area, and Dani Olmo produced a clever backheel that sent the ball into the path of Torres, who rifled a fierce strike into the top corner.
The win completed back-to-back league titles for Flick, who also delivered the LaLiga and Copa del Rey double in his first season last year.
Both sides were heavily depleted. Barcelona were without Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and Jules Kounde from the starting lineup.
Real’s list of missing players was longer, with Eder Militao, Dani Carvajal, Ferland Mendy, Arda Guler and Rodrygo all absent. Federico Valverde also missed out after suffering a head injury following a midweek changing-room fight with team-mate Aurelien Tchouameni, with both players fined 500,000 euros over the incident.
Kylian Mbappe did not travel because of a leg muscle injury, forcing manager Alvaro Arbeloa to start Vinicius Jr alongside academy striker Gonzalo, with Jude Bellingham and Brahim Diaz pushing forward in support.
Real threatened through Vinicius and Gonzalo before halftime, but Barcelona carried the greater menace. Courtois kept the visitors alive with fine saves from Torres and Rashford before the interval.
Barcelona continued to press after the break, Rashford repeatedly tormenting left back Fran Garcia down the right, while Courtois produced another sharp stop with his left foot to deny Torres from point-blank range in the 56th minute.
Bellingham had a goal ruled out for offside in the 62nd minute, and Joan Garcia was quick to deny Vinicius in a one-on-one, preventing the Brazilian from lifting the ball over him.
Real kept probing late on, but there was little bite in their attack, and Barcelona calmly saw out the win before the title celebrations began.
“This title is even more special because we won it at home against Real Madrid. Now it’s time to enjoy it with the fans,” Frenkie de Jong told Spanish broadcaster Movistar Plus.
“Every title has to be celebrated in style. Especially LaLiga, which is a year-long competition. We’ve clearly been the best in Spain.”
-Reuters
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Real Zaragoza goalkeeper Esteban Andrada was sent off for punching Huesca captain Jorge Pulido in a fiery Spanish second division clash on Sunday that descended into a mass brawl, with Huesca keeper Dani Jimenez dismissed for punching Andrada.
Zaragoza’s Dani Tasende was also dismissed after a VAR review of the brawl.
With tensions simmering in a relegation scrap, Argentine Andrada lost his composure moments before the final whistle. Ignoring the run of play, he approached Pulido and struck him in the face with his right hand, sparking chaotic scenes eight minutes into stoppage time.
It was an ugly flashpoint in a match already short on finesse and heavy on nerves, and could carry serious consequences for the goalkeeper.
Huesca manager Jose Luis did not attempt to defend the scenes.
“It’s hard to explain; I think it’s a complete loss of control. I can put myself in their shoes, given what was at stake and all. But it’s unjustifiable. It’s just that I don’t know what to do or how to stop it; a brawl breaks out,” he said.
“It’s ugly; this was supposed to be a celebration of Aragonese football. I’d like people to talk about the match, even though it was ugly, with little play but a lot of hard work.”
Oscar Sielva’s goal secured a 1-0 win for Huesca, lifting them to 36 points in 19th place, while Zaragoza remain second-bottom on 35.
-Reuters
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Joan Laporta has been re-elected as Barcelona president after winning over 68 percent of the vote and will begin his second consecutive term, and fourth overall, from July 1, the club said on Sunday.
The 63-year-old took office in March 2021 and stepped down last month in line with club statutes in order to seek re-election.
Laporta described the election as a “celebration of democracy and civic responsibility” and said the tasks ahead included finishing work on the Camp Nou and strengthening the men’s team.
-Reuters
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