The good, the bad and the beautiful as Barcelona book Super Cup final spot

Barcelona 2-0 Osasuna - Spanish Super Cup

Barcelona finally won a game 2-0 as they beat Osasuna in the Spanish Super Cup semis to set-up a dramatic Clásico showdown in Sunday’s final.

This was Barcelona’s first 2-0 win since they beat Cadiz by that scoreline in the second game of the season.

Barcelona fans will no doubt find reasons to complain about the win over Osasuna, and the truth is Barcelona did dominate the game and deserve the victory, there was still a nagging sensation that all is not quite right.

So let’s get into it, shall we?

The Good: Robert Lewandowski scores again!

For the first time since 23rd September, Robert Lewandowski has scored in consecutive matches for Barcelona this season.

Yeah, you read that right.

That was the day of Barcelona’s 3-2 comeback win over Celta Vigo, a match where Lewandowski’s brace brought them back from 0-2 down to level at 2-2 before Joao Cancelo’s late winner.

Those two goals came at the end of a five game scoring streak, in which the Pole had netted six times. After a rocky first two games it looked like he had finally found his form and would kick on to replicate the heights of 2022/23.

Nope.

In fact he’s scored just 5 goals in the 17 games since that run came to an end. He’s looked older and older with each passing match, to the extent that what seemed a shrewed investment from Barcelona a year ago now began to look like a terrible bit of business as Lewandowski still has two years left on his deal and both he and his wife have expressed a desire to stay at Barcelona for that time and even beyond (such are the perils of being based in one of the world’s great cities, bet Leam Richardson doesn’t have these problems at Rotherham United!)

Now, it should be noted that he scoring streak stopped because Xavi decided to rest him against Mallorca, a smart choice (initially anyway, they played terribly, had to bring him on and only drew the game in the end) that was undermined by Lewandowski getting injured in the game he had been rested for against Porto.

He only missed three matches with an ankle problem, but has quite simply not looked the same player since returning? Maybe he’s carrying a knock?

Lewandowski’s goal three days ago in the Copa del Rey was a penalty against a fourth division side, so nothing to write home about, but today it was a beautiful strike in a crucial match. Coming in off the left after a brief position swap with Ferran Torres, Lewandowski controlled a superb pass from Ilkay Gundogan before cutting the ball back with a near-post finish to catch Sergio Herrera out.

A delightful goal that finally takes him to double figures for the season. 10 goals in the middle of January having played every game? Not great, Bob!

But to be fair: he did score. In his second-straight game. From open play no less (for the first time since November). So, now that he can objectively claim to have some form, maybe now he finally get his season started and we see the real Robert Lewandowski?

The Bad: that first 40 minutes

If Lewandowski is getting his season started off the back of that goal then he’ll have to largely overlook his performance, in particular the first 40 minutes.

It’s weird to say in a game where Barcelona were the better team, but that first 40 minutes was as bad as almost anything we’ve seen this season, given the context of the match being a semi-final against a weaker opponent.

Lewandowski was perhaps the standout in terms of being terrible because he missed not one but two great chances. The first a classic Lewandowski shot from the left, opening his body up to try and pass it in Thierry Henry-style. Except Lewy emphasised the “pass” bit and basically just tapped it back to Sergio Herrera.

If that was bad the second was even worse as a beautiful corner from Gundogan met Lewandowski’s head perfectly five yards out yet the Polish striker somehow headed wide. He missed another good chance late in the half (more on that later) but while he was the star, he was far from the only poor performer. Pretty much everyone besides Frenkie de Jong, Sergi Roberto and Ronald Araujo were poor.

Why, though?

One word: static.

Roberto is hardly a good footballer, but he is a willing runner without the ball and was constantly looking to penetrate Osasuna’s lines with his movement.

Part of why this stood out so much in a first-half where Roberto was essentially a non-entity on the ball was because of how static the rest of Barcelona’s play was. Every time a Barça player would get the ball they’d stop, look around for a bit, then pass it off to a team-mate. No one was dribbling!

This is the problem Xavi has with team composition. He likes to pick Ferran Torres because he makes good runs off the ball, but without a wizard like Pedri and with Gundogan pulled deep to play DM, who is making those killer passes? No one. So you need dribbling, but that’s not Ferran’s game, so you’re looking to Raphinha…

But Raphinha is a terrible dribbler! He’s good at many things, the Brazilian, but dribbling has never been one of them (he’s got 2.16 successful take-ons per-90 in LaLiga this season according to FBRef, for comparison Vinicius Jr. has 3.88).

Defenders now know this and when he has the ball they just stand a yard away from him because they know he’ll almost never take it past them with any sort of dynamism or danger. Hell, at times he won’t even try (he’s attempted 3.92 take-ons per-90 this season, Vini has 9.53!) and his presence on the ball becomes pointless. Per-90, Raphinha has 1.35 carries into the opposing penalty box, the most dangerous part of the pitch. Vini has 3.88! Raphinha just doesn’t destabilise opponents.

To be fair Raphinha, like Ferran, makes good runs off the ball. But again: the midfield isn’t as sharp passing the ball given injuries, and asking your defenders to play killer through-balls multiple times every game is a bit much even for ballers like Andreas Christensen and Jules Kounde.

So you get a team where everyone is just kind of standing around passing to each other, making Osasuna’s life insultingly easy. Bar a handful of chances, most from poor Osasuna clearances and one from a set-piece, Barcelona looked dull.

Not that Osasuna were much better, but it looked like Barcelona could play on forever and not score. Things were very bad.

The Beautiful: Pedri, Joao Felix and Lamine Yamal!

Things changed, however, after 40 minutes when Raphinha got injured.

97 Passes wishes the Brazilian a speedy recovery. No player getting hurt is ever a good thing, but his injury forced Xavi to introduce Lamine Yamal earlier than expected and the teenage sensation energised things.

Lamine Yamal is a dribbler. He’s a dancer. Put the ball at his feet and he’ll take players on and often beat them. According to FBref he has 2.81 completed take-ons per-90 this season (more than Raphinha) and that off 5.06 attempts per-90 (way more than Raphinha). So, despite being a tiny child, Lamine Yamal is a more dynamic and dangerous threat to opponents when he plays (2.47 carries into the penalty box!)

And Osasuna knew it. Instantly all the defenders who were stood right in Raphinha’s face daring him to try something knowing damn well he wouldn’t (or he would and it’d be rubbish) were sagging 3 or 4 yards off Lamine Yamal. They were afraid.

The teenage sensation almost had an instant impact thanks to this space his dribbling ability afforded him. The 16 year-old threaded a delightful pass through the Osasuna defence for Robert Lewandowski’s third chance of the half, and he only had the space to see and measure that pass because opponents were afraid of his dribbling.

This is the dirty secret to Barcelona-style football. Whether it’s Pep Guardiola, Xavi, Mikel Arteta, Xabi Alonso or Johan Cruyff himself… dribbling is essential. Yes, so is passing, but being able to beat a man 1-v-1 is foundational in terms of destabilising opposing defences and breaking down pressing structures.

Look at Pep Guardiola’s great Barcelona team, for example: Leo Messi, Andrés Iniesta, Pedro, Thierry Henry (or David Villa in 2011), Dani Alves, Yaya Touré, hell even Xavi himself could dance away from you if you weren’t careful.

Now he’s coach, Xavi does have some attacking players who offer a dribbling threat, but none of them were starting. Joao Cancelo is always going to be missed, but Lamine Yamal came on and then later so did Pedri and Joao Felix.

It was the introduction of these two wizards that added some much-needed poetry to Barcelona’s prosaic performance. Joao Felix may have an inconsistent end product and the pouty demeanour of a Calvin Klein model in the mid-90’s, but he’s a sensationally gifted footballer and a joy to watch in possession.

And Pedri? Where to even begin with a footballer as elegant and gifted as Pedri? He’s glorious, and while he can’t be fully fit yet he still gave everyone a brief glimpse of his balletic brilliance, juking away from markers and drifting through defenders like they weren’t even there. He’s special and his return is huge for Xavi.

Sure enough, when Barcelona finally got their second goal to secure their first win by more than a single goal, it was a move involving all three substitutes.

Ronald Araujo (who else) cut out an Osasuna attack and played the ball out wide to Joao Felix. Knowing his marker was pressing him, Joao Felix backheeled the ball to Pedri - but not right to him, he rolled it back into the path of Pedri’s run. It was a beautiful bit of showmanship that he was intent on capitalising on, charging forward instantly and allowing Pedri to approach the ball and slide it beautifully forward.

Joao Felix picked it up inside Osasuna’s half, nutmegged Jon Moncoyola with delirious ease then darted away from Catena before sliding a neat pass into the box to Lamine Yamal. The teenager took a touch back inside to wrong-foot the defender and create space for himself, then passed it calmly into the back of the net.

2-0. Game over.

The goal secured Barcelona’s first win by more than a single goal since they smashed Royal Antwerp in September. September. Think about how nuts that is.

The goal also means Lamine Yamal is now the youngest player and goalscorer in Spanish Super Cup history. As well as the youngest goalscorer in LaLiga history. The youngest goalscorer in Spanish national team history. And he still has the time to become the youngest goalscorer in Champions League history when Barcelona take on Napoli in February!

El Prodigi is a dazzling talent, but one that will need looking after to avoid the injuries that have plagued Barcelona’s other young geniuses. That means Raphinha has to be inspired by his younger team-mate to play better, because adding dribbling and thus dynamism to Xavi’s Barcelona can’t all be left to Pedri and Joao Felix!

After all, Real Madrid are next in Sunday’s Super Cup final, and a Clásico is an entirely different challenge where Barcelona will need to be at their best to retain the trophy they won last season (by annihilating Real Madrid 3-0, in fairness).