Frenkie de Jong and Pedri each went off injured throughout Barcelona’s drab 0-0 draw with Athletic Membership in La Liga on Sunday night.
Barca had gone into the sport hoping to avenge their Copa del Rey defeat to Athletic earlier in 2024, however their offensive plans had been completely scuppered by the accidents suffered by their star midfield duo.
The consequence implies that Xavi Hernandez’s facet missed the chance to maneuver as much as second place in La Liga, failing to capitalise on Girona’s 1-0 defeat to Mallorca.
How the sport unfolded
The opening half-hour had been fiercely contested by each side, with neither facet capable of actually seize a foothold in proceedings.
Issues started to show in Athletic Membership’s favour nonetheless when Frenkie de Jong was compelled off with a worrying ankle harm – twisting it after going up for an arial duel. With out their standard out-ball in the midst of the park, Barca proved to be much less proof against the house facet’s excessive press, main to some half-decent alternatives consequently.
Regardless of Athletic taking some management of proceedings, it was the guests who’d come closest to opening the scoring earlier than the half-time whistle.
After recognizing Unai Simon effectively off his line after sweeping up a via ball over the Athletic Membership defence, Joao Cancelo would see his close to 50 yard (sure, 50 yard) chipped effort be prevented from going over the road by a mixture of Simon’s fingertips and defender Yeray Alvarez.
Barca’s harm woes would go from unhealthy to worse earlier than the half-time whistle, as Pedri hobbled off with yet one more hamstring harm in added time on the finish of the primary 45.
The injured suffered by Pedri proved to completely scupper Barca’s offensive form and had been pegged again into their very own half for a lot of the remainder of the sport. The again 4 had been capable of defend stoutly beneath intense stress from Athletic Membership, with Pau Cubarsi impressing by making a number of final ditch tackles within the field.
GK: Marc-Andre ter Stegen – 6/10 – Regardless of Athletic largely dominating the sport, he did not have a lot to do.
RB: Jules Kounde – 8/10 – Again to his greatest on Sunday night, successful 9 duels, making six clearances and successful 100% of his tackles.
CB: Ronald Araujo – 7/10 – A stable outing alongside Cubarsi on the coronary heart of Barca’s defence.
CB: Pau Cubarsi – 7/10 – Put in a really spectacular efficiency, successful the ball again for his group 4 instances and making a significant block within the second half to maintain the scores degree.
LB: Joao Cancelo – 6/10 – Got here inside a whisker of scoring one of the best aim of the season to date within the first half.
CM: Frenkie de Jong – N/A – Pressured off with a relatively worrying trying ankle harm.
CM: Andreas Christensen – 5/10 – Could not show a lot high quality on the ball in the midst of the park.
CM: Ilkay Gundogan – 5/10 – Pressured out of his extra superior midfield position when the harm bug struck within the first half.
RW: Raphinha – 3/10 – Barely touched the ball throughout his 75 minutes on the pitch.
ST: Robert Lewandowski – 5/10 – The Polish striker wasn’t given a lot service from his teammates.
LW: Pedri – 5/10 – Limped off injured within the first half with the yet one more harm.
Substitutes
SUB: Fermin Lopez (25′ for De Jong) – 6/10 – Struggled offensively, however labored laborious within the defensive third.
SUB: Lamine Yamal (45′ for Pedri) – 5/10 – Didn’t make an affect off the bench.
SUB: Inigo Martinez (75′ for Cubarsi) – 6/10
SUB: Joao Felix (75′ for Raphinha) – 5/10
SUB: Oriol Romeu (75′ for Christensen) – 6/10
Supervisor – Xavi Hernandez – 6/10 – His tactical plan went up in smoke when De Jong and Pedri hobbled off.
