When football becomes a matter of priorities, the least important usually hide a cluster bomb. He was about to explode to Barça in Valladolid, in front of the last classified, descended a good time and entangled in a crisis that does not repair expenses. Ronaldo, the main shareholder of the club, nor approaches the plug of Zorrilla. Flick had to resort to the cavalry, headed by Lamine Yamal, to avoid a biblical disaster. It was clear that the priority had been in San Siro, where Barça will play the pass to the European Cup final. Flick made an unprecedented alignment, composed of a broad majority of substitutes, some of them with few minutes this season, a debutant – Dani Rodríguez – in the position of Lamine Yamal and Ter Stegen’s return to the goal.
Flick’s decision followed an overwhelming logic. I wanted fresh legs for the match against Inter, after via Crucis in a calendar that does not allow the team to breathe. Barça dreams of the three great titles, but success punishes him with terrible efforts, so that the confrontation with Valladolid went to a second order issue, embodied in the 57 points of difference that separated the leader of the last one.
Valladolid came forward and, suddenly, Flick’s eleven looked like a thick puree
The problem for Barça was none other than the peculiarity of football, a game that skip logic with a very frequent frequency. Iván Sánchez’s goal in the fourth minute of the match undid the planned order of events. Suddenly, Flick’s alignment seemed like a thick puree, impossible to digest. Even Pedri moved stupor impression. He turned from the first half, like the rest of the team. The Valladolid, a losing games, suffered the natural attack by Ardor Guerrero and defended himself with an extraordinary effort. It even allowed the luxury of threatening with the second goal in a hand in hand of Raúl Moro, well solved by Ter Stegen. Wonders of the young end of Valladolid are spoken. He took advantage of the visibility offered by the party against Barça to confirm his skills. He will leave the club in June, without a doubt to a better destination. Si Flick wanted rest for the headlines, the game did not allow it. Lamine Yamal entered the first half for a double reason, Dani Rodríguez’s injury and needed to refloat the team. A defeat revolved the league radically. He left Madrid in an enviable situation: winning the last five games, including the imminent classic, assured him the title.
Ter Stegen returned to the goal in Valladolid 223 days after his injury
Cesar Manso / AFP
The change of panorama occurred in the second half. Flick understood that the matter became very ugly and added two new changes. They appeared on the scene of Jong and Raphinha. There was no time for more speculation. The main actors, to the field. The consequences were immediate. Two fast goals, without too much brightness, but who cared beauty at that time, rescued Barça from a critical situation. Raphinha, once again, cemented the comeback, which is mandatory this season. Barça knows how to overcome moments of extreme gravity. Valladolid’s was one of them, of the very complicated in addition. The league was in danger more than ever. Raphinha picked up a defective clearance of the goalkeeper, or at least a poorly directed clearance, and added a new goal to his particular inventory. There are already 16 in the league. Minutes later, Fermín finished a little style from Gerard Martín and took Barça out of a ordeal that he did not finish forgetting. He played with his soul in suspense until the last moment of the match.
