Barcelona started the year 2021 in sixth place in the League, falling 10 points behind Atlético and eight behind Real Madrid, even behind Real Sociedad, Sevilla and Villarreal and only the mismatch of days prevented, after the Camp Nou draw against Eibar, led to depression flavored with unquestionable failure.
A month later, Barça is second in the standings after five championship wins with their narrow win, but they eventually triumphed over Athletic, something that had not happened since 2016, and Ronald Koeman’s team has already overtaken Real Madrid, which he now outperforms by goal difference in the absence of the Clásico at the Santiago Bernabéu and only considers Atlético de Madrid above, at the same distance of course which makes hunting a huge challenge.
Impossible?
“There are still a lot of games left. We have to win and then we will see how far we go,” said Antione Griezmann, scorer of the second goal in the game against Athletic on a night that was very difficult for the Barça team and left that. other visions in the back of the plane.
One of those visions is that this is still Lionel Messi’s Barça, who himself took revenge on the lions who beat him in the Super Cup Final and caused the first eviction of his first-team career.
The Barcelona of a Messi on display as far as the troops reached on a particularly difficult day.
The brushstroke of the goal was his last response to the publication of his contract on a particularly uncomfortable Sunday around Camp Nou and the Argentinian showed that whether he leaves or not at the end of the season, he is fully committed to the last day will be. for the cause of Barça.
“We love him. He is a legend and I hope we continue to enjoy him so that he helps us win,” Griezmann said of Messi.
The Frenchman’s speech could be expanded into an entire dressing room breathing together at its own pace and in which there was other good news, such as the return, 18 games later, of Sergi Roberto who had finally recovered from his injury. Also Ousmane Dembele’s audacity, speed and audacity, Samuel Umtiti’s good feeling and Oscar Mingueza’s rebellion, cruelly indicated by a technical report to which he responded with a great and rounded play with the help for the final 2-1. .
It was not the expected evening of Miralem Pjanic, but unfortunately for Barça, that is no longer news, because the Bosnian is still not showing the level expected of him. This was probably the only negative news for a Barça who has climbed five positions in a month and has grown from a corpse to a belief in himself.
Catching up with an Atlético that rides without restraint is a chimera for many and a huge challenge for others. It will be necessary to see how far Barça will go, but with suffering and under Messi’s leadership, the Catalan team seems willing, with better days and less for others, to try.