If we resort to the cliché that forwards have streaks, Lewandowski is on a good note with Barcelona. The opportunism of the Pole unblocked a match that was being complicated for his team due to the good work of Getafe. The Madrid team bothered the LaLiga leader with their pressure and during the first quarter of an hour they had the duel where they wanted, far from their goal, recovering balls in risky areas and reaching the vicinity of the goal defended by Iñaki Peña. He was even close to scoring with a header from Carles Perez coming from behind that came out very centered. On a couple of other occasions he only lacked precision in the last pass. He was deactivating the set of Bordalás (the coach was not on the bench due to suspension) to a team that was working wonderfully at the start of the League, and that, despite lacking precision, found forcefulness. When Lamine Yamal was able to run down the right, fear could be smelled. The young winger extended the ball to Koundéwho ran behind him, and the full-back’s cross slipped past David Soria as if he had caught a fish with his hands. The ball was loose and the one with the rod to put the catch in the net was Lewandowski.
The goal pushed Getafe back a bit, but Barcelona never felt comfortable, always harassed by their opponent’s defensive instinct. This time Flick opted for a midfield with Eric Garcia, very neat; Casadó, very active; and Pablo Torre, with occasional appearances. The good thing about his team is that now they are going with the wind in their favour and whoever plays is performing. The Catalan team did manage to limit their rival’s attacks, which were non-existent from that moment until half-time.
In sport there is nothing like winning. Barça’s victories make everyone feel active, and this can be seen in some retreats that nullified counterattacks that initially seemed advantageous for Getafe. Meanwhile, Barça looked for some genius from Lamine Yamalmore involved this time inside leaving the band for Koundé; a good change of play by Iñigo Martínez to surprise or the adventures of Bucketvery persistent on the left flank. But nothing was effective. Lewandowski only had one other chance to score, but this time Soria managed to clear it.
The players had an extra enemy on the Montjuïc pitch, which forced Cubarsi, for example, to change his boots. The one who didn’t lose his footing was Lamine Yamal, who made several moves of pure quality that perhaps needed a dribble too much. When he did manage to get the shot off, after the slalom parallel to the area that he was going to patent, he forced a flight from David Soria. There was also danger for the locals on the other side in a partnership between Balde and Pablo Torre that didn’t find a finisher and in a corner kick. Getafe continued to crouch, with Uche giving himself a beating in his fight against the centre-backs. The match began to be more of a hard-legged game, a pure fight, while Raphinha’s free kick was also stopped by the “Geta” goalkeeper and Lamine’s improvised shot touched the crossbar, caressing it. The youth player continued to provoke the “oh”s from the crowd for his skill.
Time was playing against Barcelona’s nerves, who saw the result in danger in the final moments. Cubarsí was the protagonist of a great defensive action and Borja Mayoral had it very clear four metres from goal, but his shot was more in the air than at the ball. It was an unbeatable opportunity.