Rested Barcelona looks to find its stride again
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Monthly Digital Subscription
$1 per week for 24 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $4.00 plus GST every four weeks. After 24 weeks, price increases to the regular rate of $19.00 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
Monthly Digital Subscription
$4.75/week*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $19 plus GST every four weeks. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*Your next subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $16.99 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $23.99 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/02/2019 (2428 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
MADRID – In a slump and under pressure, Barcelona hopes it got to fully recharge ahead of the most difficult stretch of the season.
After three consecutive draws, including two in the Spanish league that allowed Real Madrid to cut into its lead, Barcelona got a rare week off before facing a series of crucial matches in the league, Copa del Rey and Champions League.
The break might have been just what Barcelona needed to get its players reinvigorated and refocused, and to make sure its biggest star, Lionel Messi, is back at full strength following a nagging injury.
“We will be at our best again after a calmer week,” Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic said after the team’s lacklustre performance in a scoreless draw at Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.
Four days earlier, Barcelona drew 1-1 with Real Madrid at home in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals. The week before, it was held by Valencia to a 2-2 draw at Camp Nou Stadium in the league. The Catalan club had won eight consecutive league matches before that.
It was a tough stretch for Barcelona, coming at the end of a run of 11 consecutive games with no week off. It will now play eight consecutive games, including two against Lyon in the round of 16 of the Champions League and two against Real Madrid at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium — the return leg of the Copa del Rey semifinal and a Spanish league match.
“We can’t really blame the calendar,” Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde said. “It shouldn’t be used as an excuse.”
The extra rest may have come at a perfect time for Messi, who only played part of the Copa game against Real Madrid because of a right leg injury. He was back for the match against Athletic, but looked out of form from the start and was not a real factor.
Messi had scored in nine straight matches until missing part of the match against Real Madrid. He is the league’s leading scorer with 21 goals — six more than his closest competitor, teammate Luis Suarez.
Barcelona’s setbacks in the league allowed a red-hot Real Madrid to reduce the gap at the top of the standings to six points. It had been 10 points only a few weeks ago.
There is reason for Barcelona to fear its rival, as Real Madrid has won five straight in the league and seven of its last eight matches in all competitions. Its only setback was the 1-1 draw against Barcelona at Camp Nou in the Copa del Rey.
Atletico Madrid, seven points off the lead, didn’t get closer in the league standings because it lost its last two matches.
“With all due respect to Madrid and Atletico, we have to focus on ourselves,” Rakitic said. “We’ve done well until now and we are still in the lead. We have to keep this going.”
___
More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/apf-Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
___
Tales Azzoni on Twitter: http://twitter.com/tazzoni