Earth swallow me. Oriol Romeu surely wanted it when he made two glaring mistakes that cost him the first two goals for a Barcelona team that returned very shaken from Antwerp. But not only him. Barça lost against the worst team in the Champions League, the only team that had not yet scored in the group stage. The last straw. That team also took the colors of the Blaugrana, who only risked prestige in addition to first place. Paradoxically, he did not recover his sensations, he did not win the financial prize that seemed to matter so much and he did, on the rebound, win being seeded in the draw. Xavi's credibility is shaken with the two consecutive defeats. Girona is the leader but Antwerp was the worst.
Calm in the classification, with the ticket to the round of 16 sealed since the 2-1 draw against Porto, the players are still nervous on the field, their legs are shaking and they are mentally blocked. The downturn is more than evident and it is impossible to separate what came before, whether the crisis in the game or the doubts in Barcelona fans.
Barça cannot take advantage of even a favorable situation like the one it had in the Champions League to breathe. He cannot have a single game to enjoy, especially because of his constant determination to start games losing. Lack of leadership on the pitch, the only ones who are saved are the young people.
It was a game that subtracted more than added, especially in a club where there is no calm or truce. And the team has a bad habit of making life even more complicated. The trip seemed to be bothersome even before getting on the plane, with the call rectified. Lewandowski went from being at home to being a starter – although he went through the Bosuilstadion with pain and left with 0 shots –, Gündogan had to come out in the second half with the score 1-2 to remedy a horrible Oriol Romeu while Araújo, warned As it was, he stayed in the stands.
Far from learning, Xavi's Barça falls and falls into the same trap again. It almost seems like he trips himself. It doesn't matter that the coach put in seven new faces. The problem is structural and not names. In Antwerp he conceded another devastating goal right out of the gate, like in Granada and against Alavés. This time the Belgians waited for 75 seconds. Oriol Romeu laid out a red carpet for them towards the goal. The midfielder, who had not played a minute in three games, did not control a pass from Iñaki Peña with his back in the area. Under pressure from Yusuf, he gave the ball to Vermeeren, who sent it into the net with a great forehand.
The goalkeeper, Ter Stegen's replacement, has a hard time keeping a clean sheet. Although in his apology it must be said that it is difficult to discern whether Koundé is a friend or enemy in many moments in defense.
The worst thing for the battered confidence is that Barcelona had many minutes ahead of them and was unable to react. The Belgian team has been ahead on the scoreboard in its three home games in the group, the only one that could not overcome it was this schizophrenic Barça. Instead of successive opportunities, all that was seen were losses and inaccuracies. In half an hour, Barça did not even approach Butez, a spectator. The Blaugrana lacked a plan, with Sergi Roberto and Fermín as theoretical creators, and each one waged war on his own and the Belgians with very little, a wall, dismasted behind, where Héctor Fort was scared in his official debut , who after 20 seconds had already allowed his wallet to be stolen and conceded a cross from the wing that found no finisher.
On the other hand, another youth player, Lamine Yamal, but much more established in the first team, was the one who showed his face the most. And the one who found the way to a momentary tie thanks to a great ride after a corner against Barça. The youth player went down the right wing and drove until he saw the right moment to assist Ferran Torres, who controlled and shot in a great maneuver.
The Valencian's goal was Barcelona's only shot on goal in that half. But after the break neither the game nor the outlook improved. In Can Barça you can always get worse, fall lower. Sergi Roberto was almost sent off, Lamine Yamal hit the crossbar and Koundé made another glaring mistake to give Janssen a goal. Only an offside that the VAR saw saved him from ridicule. A very harsh criticism that Oriol Romeu could not avoid, who made another mistake at the start in another monumental error by losing on the balcony of the area. Janssen did not waste Yusuf's recovery to make the wound bigger.
The damage was not solved by the triple change of the gallons. Gündogan, Cancelo and Pedri entered, who ended up as captain, who were reserved for Mestalla. And those who almost washed the image of the entrance of two boys from the house: Marc Guiu and Marc Casadó. The forward, who already saved the team with his goal against Athletic in the League, managed to tie in the 90th minute with a great header from a lateral foul. But there was one last twist of fate missing. The Blaugrana couldn't even defend that 2-2. Antwerp took the center and Ilenikhena stood up to Iñaki Peña, whom he surpassed from above. The last straw for this Barça, who lost against the worst team in the Champions League.
Amberes: Butez, De Laet (Van Den Bosch 94), Alderweireld, Coulibaly, Wijndal, Vermeeren, Keita, Yusuf, Kerk (Bataille 69), Janssen (Ilenikhena 79) y Ejuke (Corbanie 79)
Barcelona: Iñaki Peña, Héctor Fort (Cancelo 60), Koundé, Christensen, Balde, Romeu (Gündogan 60), Sergi Roberto (Casadó 76) Fermín (Pedri 60); Lamine Yamal, Lewandowski (Marc Guiu 72) and Ferran Torres
Estadio: Bosuil Stadium.
Referee: Marco Guida (Italy).
Cards: Booked Wijndal, Lamine Yamal, Sergi Roberto, De Laet, Bataille and Ferran Torres.
Goals: 1-0 Vermeeren (2). 1-1 Ferran Torres (35). 2-1 Janssen (56). 2-2 Marc Guiu (91). 3-2 Ilenikhena (92)
