The old sins of another terrible first part

Barcelona again had a terrible first half at the Gran Canaria Stadium, with no scoring chances and with an old rival who could have scored more. Mistakes and flaws were repeated in the game of Barça, who were forced to come back in the last minutes.

These are some of the sins committed by the Barcelona team against Unión Deportiva Las Palmas.

GAPS AND ATTITUDES

Incredible mistakes at key moments

Let’s continue with the first, and perhaps the most important because the rest is mainly a consequence, an aspect that has attracted attention in the Canary Islands: some attitudes when it comes to touch, retreat or distance oneself. Or better yet NOT stand out.
It is not fair to put them all in the same bag, but some gaps in important moments get a lot of attention if a careful analysis is done.

2

PART ONE UNFINISHED

Until minute 50, nothing

Barça did not concede a goal in the first minute, that is true, but far from improving their performance in the first half, the one they played in Las Palmas was probably the worst of the season. Not a single chance to score, not a single shot. Neither between the sticks nor wrong direction. Barcelona’s first attempt was from Raphinha on 50 minutes, very high. Before, the approaches always controlled by the defense of Las Palmas.

3

DEFENSIVE PASSIVITY

Facilities for yellow forwards

The Las Palmas goal, an action by Sandro that was finished by Munir, was a new example of defensive passivity, both from the full-back and the center-backs, which allowed Munir to maneuver with ease.
Christensen, who had just entered, was surprised by that action and another, when he let the Munir pass from Kirian, alone. And Sandro also scored with a shot that he managed unopposed in the area and deflected Iñaki Peña for a corner.

4

STERILE BAND

There is no real danger from the extreme

Barcelona’s game didn’t flow inside, but it didn’t flow on the wings either. The right, hurt by Cancelo’s early injury and with Raphinha as the main actor, hardly developed anything, while on the left Balde often entered with danger, but his decisions were almost always wrong, with no proper centers or clear passes not executed.

5

STORMED PLACE

Looked for the back of the advanced defense

Barcelona repeatedly tried to take advantage of Union Deportiva’s advanced defense. Creating through reduced combinations inside, the Barça team looked for vertical balls behind the defense, especially with passes from Frenkie de Jong. However, they did not take advantage, because the resolution was slow and the Canarian defense almost always had time to react.
In fact, the two goals did not come through the game or any of these actions in space. The first was Ferran solving a mess in the area and the second was a penalty after a shot was denied by the goalkeeper which Gündogan tried to finish into an empty net.
By the way: punishment like a house.

6

PRESSURE IS NOT EFFECTIVE

Sports Union moved the ball comfortably

And, finally, the sin that was repeated in many games: Barcelona did not effectively press the opponent’s ball. In that disastrous first half, Las Palmas’ center backs and midfielders moved the ball with ease and comfort.

7

BELOW AVERAGE

More yellow than turquoise blue

The direct consequence of this ineffective pressure was the Canarian superiority on average in all the actions of the first half, where Frenkie de Jong and Gündogan often played against Perrone, Kirian and Muñoz, with the help of Moleiro or Sandro.