.png?2.1.1 "Vokash")
3 weeks ago
“I told my teammates: ‘If I spell on, I’ll score,’ and everybody laughed,” Ronald Araújo said but they weren’t laughing now. Actually, wait, no: they were laughing now. Laughing and shouting and swearing and scrambling to flight nan bench, for illustration personification had group occurrence to it. Someone for illustration him: 6ft 3in and 15 chromatic of Uruguayan beef, tearing disconnected his apical and leaping complete nan boards advertizing Kicking My Feet, fists thudding astatine his bare thorax while Barcelona’s players chased him, Frenkie de Jong leapt connected for a ride, and complete connected nan acold broadside of Montjuic nan head who wasn’t expected to beryllium location fto rip. “It’s football, it’s emotion,” Hansi Flick said.
When it’s for illustration this especially. On a play erstwhile nan first 15 seconds of each crippled weren’t played astatine each and weren’t ever broadcast either – La Liga distracting everyone from nan 22-man standstill protests complete their unilateral decision to spell to Miami by encouraging cameras to look elsewhere and commentators to talk astir thing other – nan champion was alternatively saved for nan last seconds erstwhile attraction was really connected nan pitch. And location it was each kicking off. Properly, this time.
Jan Oblak made an exceptional 89th-minute prevention to unafraid a 1-0 triumph for Atlético Madrid against Osasuna, Ante Budimir someway stopped wherever he ne'er is. Thibaut Courtois did nan aforesaid for Real Madrid, denying Abu Kamara astatine nan Coliseum connected 95.40. Antony, who they telephone nan GOAT, scored his first 2 goals since heading backmost across Triana Bridge to Betis, completing a comeback connected 93 to tie 2-2 pinch Villarreal. And it was infinitesimal 89 erstwhile Carlos Soler mightiness conscionable person saved nan Real Sociedad head Sergio Francisco’s occupation and did costs Celta Vigo a first win, leaving them a seventh 1-1 instead. Before each that, location was nan emergency striker rescuing Barcelona, Araújo sending everyone bananas connected 92.27.
“I asked if he could play successful that position,” Flick admitted, a scheme occurring to him nether pressure. Could he? “If I did, I’d people much goals,” Araújo said afterwards. And though a “nah, I’m joking” followed fast, conscionable arsenic it did erstwhile Gerard Piqué utilized to for illustration saying nan solution to those games erstwhile nan timepiece conscionable kept moving and nan shot conscionable wouldn’t spell successful was to stick him up beforehand sooner and erstwhile Sergio Ramos complained astir getting saturated astatine nan backmost what pinch his “striker’s soul”, location was thing successful it. This time, astatine least, it was true.
Barcelona had needed it to be. With 7 days to spell until nan clasico and 8 minutes to spell until full-time successful nan different Catalan derby, they were drafting 1-1 pinch Girona. A gorgeous Pedri goal, retired for a gentle stroll successful nan area, stepping past defenders and rolling nan shot calmly done them each into nan net, had fixed Barça a 1-0 lead. An outrageous overhead footwear from Axel Witsel soon made it 1-1. And Girona should person taken nan lead arsenic well, wasting 3 clear chances successful nan first half that were precisely nan measurement you imagine, Barcelona caught pinch nan highest statement since César Azpilicueta’s shorts. Now nan 2nd half was slipping away, and truthful excessively was nan apical of nan table.
Lamine Yamal and Pedri had gone, thing near to give, and were now sitting silently connected nan 2nd statement of nan bench. Raphinha, Ferran Torres and Robert Lewandowski hadn’t been location successful nan first place, sitting successful nan beforehand statement of nan stands. Flick had utilized 4 substitutes – Fermín López had gone on, Roony Bardghji excessively – but location had been nary measurement through. It was clip for 1 more; it was clip to nonstop nan large bloke connected up front, nan measurement Johan Cruyff utilized to do pinch José Ramón Alexanko, not acrophobic to play “like Everton” erstwhile he needed to, arsenic 1 columnist put it. Except that wasn’t precisely nan measurement it happened, and it almost didn’t hap astatine all, timepiece ticking past 90 pinch his sub hardly having a touch fto unsocial a chance.
When nan committee went up, Flick was sent disconnected for complaining that 4 added minutes weren’t enough, referee Jesús Gil Manzano flashing 1 yellowish and opinionated location each make my time punk, challenging nan German to make him flash a second, which he did. And that, it seemed, was that. But it turned retired Flick was wrong, and erstwhile nan extremity came aft conscionable 2 and a half minutes, it wasn’t booted up to nan large bloke aliases thrown into nan mixer. Araújo had been a striker until he was 17, a subordinate defenders would bounce disconnected but besides 1 who “would put my ft connected nan shot and everything” until he was sent further back, and this was much Lineker than lump it. All astir anticipation and timing, a decorativeness of finesse alternatively than physique, Araújo dashed crossed nan beforehand of 3 defenders, arriving by nan adjacent station to guideline it debased first clip past Paulo Gazzaniga and successful astatine nan acold post.
And past he was off, garment near connected nan turf down him. Watching from by nan tunnel, down which he was expected to person departed, Flick delivered his fist-on-forearm ceremony – a “sleeve-cutter” aliases butifarra arsenic they telephone it successful Barcelona, named aft nan Catalan sausage. The subs came pushing and shoving their measurement retired of nan chair and flooding nan method area, Pedri and Lamine Yamal embracing successful nan shadows and nan past out. Across nan transportation they piled connected to Araújo. When nan whistle went, they came from nan stands too, Torres and Raphinha and nan remainder celebrating successful civvies, nan strength of it each eloquent. “Sometimes you person to triumph for illustration this,” López said. Sometimes, successful fact, it is bully to, Flick suggested. And sometimes you conscionable person to win, afloat stop.
Barcelona had needed that. They came into this play having been beaten by PSG, a amended broadside than they are. Then they had been battered by Sevilla. They had not played good against Girona either: contempt nan win, Pedri said he wasn’t happy pinch really they had performed, rightly noting that they are failing to use nan unit that makes nan precocious statement work. The doubts were accumulating, nan absences too. The clasico was coming up, nan fearfulness increasing that if Kylian Mbappé could clip his runs correct this time, that statement is much porous than ever. A tie against Girona would person put them connected nan edge, 4 points behind. Lose astatine nan Bernabéu and it mightiness not person been a agelong to opportunity nan title was retired of scope already.
after newsletter promotion
But location was Araújo. He had needed it too, nan warmth pinch which they went to him telling. That he started connected nan chair seemed telling too. Despite initially joining Barcelona’s B team, location has ever been a consciousness of him being nan slightest Barcelona of their defenders, a Uruguayan who for each the Brazilian influence admitted that he had to inquire Xavi what, aliases who, nan 3rd man was; nan subordinate that Luis Enrique had identified arsenic nan 1 PSG could fto person nan shot and who had been sent disconnected against then; a centre-back of bonzer athleticism but who Flick seemed unsure astir entrusting to lead a statement that required coordination and precision up of betterment speed.
There had been injuries too, others making a lawsuit for inclusion successful his absence, and an consciousness that he was 1 of their fewer sellable assets. At times it has felt for illustration it has been easy to scapegoat him, to floor plan him arsenic conscionable not rather correct somehow, to place what he has done and make a target of him instead, to spot unit applied connected him for reasons beyond conscionable nan measurement he plays. Not immune to that, he excessively had wondered if a departure mightiness beryllium best, an connection coming from Juventus. When he renewed his statement it came pinch a buyout clause that was not truthful overmuch a deterrent arsenic an invitation. At nan extremity of nan Super Cup final, Lewandowski put an limb astir his enarthrosis and told him to stay, astatine slightest for now: location will beryllium chances to play, he says; successful nan summertime possibly you tin deliberation again.
In nan summer, Iñigo Martínez went and nan Uruguayan stayed, which didn’t extremity nan doubts, nan emotion that possibly he wasn’t arsenic needed arsenic he would for illustration to be. Of nan backmost of an world week erstwhile he didn’t travel, staying down to activity instead, Eric García and Pau Cubarsí still started up of him. Andreas Christensen was introduced earlier he was. Four men went first, but now successful their clip of need, nan timepiece moving down, location he was sent connected a typical mission: a striker again, backmost successful touch pinch nan boy he utilized to be, pulling connected his garment judge he was going to people and telling them so. “They laughed, but truthful it was,” Araújo said.
English (US) · 
Indonesian (ID) ·