Barcelona In First Post-Messi Match Victory
- Son strike shocks Man City in 0-1 loss to Tottenham
FC Barcelona won their first La Liga match of the post-Lionel Messi era with a 4-2 victory over a Real Sociedad side that mounted a late rally on Sunday night.
Their season-opening match at Camp Nou comes after a drama-filled week that saw club legend Messi join Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) on a free transfer.
Gerard Pique scored Barca’s first goal on the night with a close-range header from Memphis Depay’s free-kick delivery in the 19th minute. Martin Braithwaite doubled Barca’s lead just seconds before half-time with a back-post header off a delivery from Frenkie de Jong.
Braithwaite made it three on the night when he scored in the 59th minute after goalkeeper Alex Remiro palmed the ball into the path of the Danish striker.
La Real pulled one back in the 82nd minute when Julen Lobete scored, with Mikel Oyarzabal scoring three minutes later to cut Barca’s lead to one. However, Sergio Roberto scored in the waning moments to secure the three points.
In England, it was not the best start for reigning English Premiership champions, Manchester City as they lost 1-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in their opening game.
Looking short of any goal-scoring threat, Coach Pep Guardiola paced his technical area frantically as his City side desperately pushed for an equaliser against Spurs.
Without their talisman, Harry Kane, it was harder for Spurs, but Son Heung-min stepped up in his place. While his first shot was deflected wide, his second in the 55th minute nestled perfectly in the corner.
But you don’t have to be the most innovative coach in world football to see what was wrong with the Citizens. They urgently need a goal scorer and the answer to this problem, Harry Kane, was sitting high in the stands of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with his future still in London rather than with the champions.
And, while Tottenham showed they can survive without Harry Kane, City could only underline why they really want him and why they need him.
Last season, Guardiola’s side claimed the title without a recognised striker, this season it might not be so easy. Their most likely rivals, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Manchester United, all put big scores on the board 24 hours earlier, on the opening weekend of the season.
However, City only showed they were fallible and admittedly they had a much tougher start than the other contenders, but they drew a big, fat blank, and the reasons why were clear for all to see – the lack of a goal-scorer.
If City were hoping to haggle over the price for Kane before the transfer window shuts at the start of September, their performance in the Premier League opener only strengthened the north London club’s hand.
City could have been 3-0 up inside the opening 10 minutes but they missed that final touch to make the difference. Fernandinho made a clever run from a free-kick but headed wide with Hugo Lloris flapping, while Joao Cancelo and Riyad Mahrez dragged shots off target.
Jack Grealish on the left-wing and Mahrez on the right teased the Tottenham full-backs all afternoon, but every cross sent into the box was comfortably dealt with by Davinson Sanchez and Eric Dier.
Spanish winger Ferran Torres was playing in the number nine role but, while he has a happy knack of finding space, against Tottenham there was none to be had.
