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Boost battle against relegation in 17th place
BY VICTOR OSOWOCHI – Spanish La Liga Champions-elect Barcelona faltered away from home to gift relegation-threatened Real Valladolid hopes to continue in the elite pack next season.
The Albivioletas (White and Violets) earned an important 3-1 victory over a weakened Barcelona side on Tuesday and it was good value for their victory as they climbed to 17th position, provisionally three points clear of the relegation zone.
Valladolid only needed 90 seconds to signal their intention with Barcelona defender Andreas Christensen sending them on the way to victory by heading into his own net.
Fifteen minutes later, the hosts were 2-0 up with Cyle Larin converting from the spot after a clumsy tackle by Eric Garcia in the box. It was a day that Barcelona’s makeshift defensive unit collapsed in a hostile environment, and they crumbled embarrassingly to the chagrin of Manager Xavi.
The Blaugrana were poor on all fronts, lacking in attacking inspiration in the absence of Pedri and Ousmane Dembele. And when they did create, Jordi Masip made a handful of saves to keep them out, ensuring the home side took a 2-0 lead into the break.
A third came after 73 minutes as Barca were ripped apart on the counter. Garcia, deployed in an unfamiliar right-back role, played Larin onside and failed to recover, allowing Gonzalo Plata an easy tap-in at the back post.
However, consolation came when Robert Lewandowski rounded the keeper and finished impressively to move one step closer to the golden boot. The goal did little to hide what was clearly a miserable performance from a team perhaps still celebrating clinching the title.
Young playmaker Pablo Torre started for the first time in La Liga for Barcelona and put in a bright performance but they were sluggish as a team and fell to a second consecutive defeat.
Addressing reporters after the match, Xavi said; “Pablo had a good game, he was good in his position, he played through a lot of good passes and linked up well with Robert.
“In the first half, we were not good. We let in two goals because of our own mistakes. We had an objective, we completed it, and that has caused a dip in concentration”.
Xavi further said; “We have had a great season, but for our fans, and to say goodbye to (Sergio) Busquets, we have to do better.”
For now, Goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen is still chasing the La Liga clean sheet record of 26 matches. At present, he has 25 clean sheets with two matches remaining this season. – With agency reports
