Pedri and Ter Stegen save a mediocre game for Barca
Ansu Fati is the only player in the Barça squad who has played every game. The youth squad player has participated in all 27 games played by the Blaugrana. But only in dribs and drabs. He has only started eight times and has only completed two games, against Viktoria Plzen in the Champions League and on Sunday against Getafe. In fact, he has played 1,019 minutes out of 2,340 possible ones.
Far from the player most used by Xavi. The coach has prudently managed Ansu's appearances, always taking into account the ordeal he has gone through during the last two years of injuries and surgeries. The coach has set a slow but constant pace for Ansu to be Ansu again. And Xavi's plan seems to have worked, because the forward is getting closer to the best version of himself, as he demonstrated in the cup match against Ceuta. For this reason, after the win, the coach announced that Ansu would start against Getafe to replace the suspended Lewandowski.
He was. And he played from beginning to end. And he had to face the very crowded defence of the Madrid side, which practically did not let him breathe. Without space, Ansu suffered. A lot. He was never comfortable. He did not receive balls in good conditions. And he made some mistakes in controlling the ball. He demonstrated his intuition and his willingness to be decisive. Unfortunately he was not. Nor was it a good game for Barça in general. The opposite. It was a dull game, hard to crack and difficult to digest. The Blaugrana dominated but without creating clear chances. And Pedri's solitary goal was an enormous reward because it meant adding three far from shiny but still vital points. After the show offered against Madrid in the Super Cup final, the bar is once again very high for a Barça that needs to maintain their level to fight for all the titles. Xavi's team did not suffer against Getafe, but they did not achieve an exciting victory either. The procedure was completed. In a mediocre way. But it’s still something.
Because Barça, with their victory, maintain the three-point advantage over Madrid at the top of the table. Barca’s leadership is solid, reliable. Thanks, in part, to the immeasurable state of form of Ter Stegen, who has already played 13 league games ending with a clean sheet. And yesterday he again made key interventions. Not conceding goals is, without a doubt, the first step to winning games. And Barça, with the German goalkeeper, have that assured.
