Elche CF vs FC Barcelona La Liga | J27 Date: April 1, 2023 Venue: Manuel Martinez Valero Squad List Injury riddled period continues. El Clasico win has left the squad with more scars. FdJ is out and Araujo will apparently be a last minute decision. EDIT: I made the thread a bit in a rush, so it needs to be mentioned that Christensen is out as we already mentioned in the season thread due to injury picked up in international break and Raphinha is out throush suspension. I'd imagine that Fati will get his chance with a start today.
very interesting. Eric being tested as a pivot, and Fati and Ferran get chances to prove themselves, and Gavi wearing the #30 again
Lewy should have put that header away. The cross came with quite a bit of pace and he just couldn't connect right.
Elche 0 x 1 Barca - HT Not a great half but also not as bad as other away games we've had. It is bottom of table Elche. Gavi has been immense. Ferran and Fati not really making a case for themselves.
Just wow .... we got really lucky there. Carmona pulls up with an injury as he is going towards goal and 1 v 1 against MAtS.
Honestly I haven't paid that much attention to his play. But if I haven't noticed it much it's probably because he hasn't screwed up.
That was a strange goal, for me Fati looked meek and lacking confidence on that run. I thought he was going to take on the defender 1 v 1 but he decided to take a shot from outside of the box. On one view, it was a nice finish, but he also looked hesitant to go at the defender .. as if he didn't want run 100%. Maybe I am just seeing things here.
hard to say from just this match. but he looked comfortable in possession and never really looked out of place. i did notice that he did a lot of 'conducting' - advising players in possession which way to pass it - his leadership qualities have been highlighted before and could shine in that position. i'd like to see more of this experiment, especially alongside Frenkie, Pedri and Gavi. he might need to work on his stamina if he wants to really stake a claim there, seemed to tire at the end. other highlights include seeing Fati break his duck. let's hope that can be a turning point and he can build on that, although he was a little sloppy on the ball apart from that moment. and Ferran continues to look a completely different player when played on the right wing. plus a rare outing for Pablo Torre, and a debut for Garrido. also might have been Lewy's best performance since the WC break.
Aleix Garrido: "It's the BEST day of my life. I've spent 11 years at this club and it's an incredible feeling. I'm very happy and I hope I play more. I'm the happiest person in the world right now."
Heading home from a family trip to New Orleans and really hoping our power is on. We got a power outage text while in vacation which is unsettling. Hope your power is restored! Happy for the win and each goal scorer who really needed it in their own way. Glad Eric might’ve found a path forward at Barca, as with Inigo coming he will be even more surplus at CB. He may still be an accounting casualty, I suppose, as any transfer fee would be a rare profit.
More on Eric at DM: Xavi quotes in the official FCB site, where he credits Jordi Cyruff for the idea: https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/football/first-team/news/3132612/eric-garcia-in-new-midfield-role and 95 second video on Reddit showing some nice forward passes mostly, a bit of defense: https://www.reddit.com/r/Barca/comments/129ji76/eric_garcia_highlights_vs_elche/ A few player ratings: Eric Garcia: 7 His first game as a pivot, and he was largely solid throughout. Positionally a bit suspect at times, but progressively solid as expected. barcauniversal DM: Eric Garcia - 6/10 - A solid showing in midfield. Not tested much defensively but kept things ticking over with some nice passing. 90min Eric Garcia (6/10): Used as a No.6, and played some good stuff early on. Not always positionally sound, though. goal Eric Garcia – 7. Started as a holding midfielder for the first time. An experiment, he was comfortable from box to box. Surprisingly impressive before he tired in the second half. "Eric looked very relaxed today,” said Xavi. “I think that he played very well in a new position for him. We'll seein the future.” nationalnews
Yeah, it was good to see some guys who have been struggling get a confidence boost, potentially. It was against a Segunda division team effectively but still must feel good to score for Fati, Lewa and Ferran.