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Saturday, June 27, 2020 at
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Barcelona delivered a default in LaLiga on Saturday. The Catalan superpower visited low-flyer Celta de Vigo twice ahead of Luis Suárez, but a late goal by Iagos Aspas led to a loss of points (2-2). Barcelona is again the list leader in Spain, but Real Madrid can take the lead on Sunday with a win over Espanyol and hit a two-point gap. Afterwards Jan van Halst makes a very hard argument Ziggo Sport and focuses his sights specifically on Ivan Rakitic.
Rakitic played controlling midfield at Barcelona tonight, in the role normally played by Sergio Busquets. However, the latter was suspended, so Rakitic, supported by Arturo Vidal and Riqui Puig, had to balance the diaphragm. According to Van Halst, the experienced Croat failed to do so. “If you go deep against Barcelona from midfield, there will be no one to follow you,” said the analyst.
Van Halst then focuses on ‘defending alibi’ from Rakitic and highlights two moments in that context. First of all, he blames the midfielder for leaving Okay Yokuslu to pass with Aspas just before half time. “He just has to walk here. Those are painful meters, but he has to. He says: ‘I really did everything I could to stop the ball.’ This was one minute before half-time, “comments the former midfielder of Ajax and FC Twente, among others, in the studio of Ziggo Sport.
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According to Van Halst, Celta de Vigo could become dangerous in the first half because Rakitic did not follow Aspas.
Ultimately, this moment ended well for Barcelona by defending Gerard Piqué and Vidal well, but shortly after the break, negligent action by Rakitic did not lead to the formation of trainer Quique Setién. The Croat was surprised this time after a pass from Aspas in the back by Yokuslu, after which the Turkish midfielder was able to continue and allowed Fedor Smolov to bring the 1-1 on the scoreboard. “He just has to walk here! They are painful meters, but you just have to walk along”, Van Halst blames Rakitic.
And it is right again! That was very easy for Celta de Vigo ?? Smolov can type it! ?? # ZiggoSport #CeltaBarca #LaLiga pic.twitter.com/q7QihDVWKp
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Van Halst points out how Yokuslu could simply walk away from Rakitic’s back and then assist Smolov’s 1-1.
The analyst believes that Rakitic was also left in the 1-1 by Samuel Umtiti. “I must say that he was not helped by Umtiti, who was very stupid (on Brais Méndez, ed.). Sometimes you do not have to cover, but instead get out, because you know that Rakitic is not a follower, so you can still take care of it. This indicates the vulnerability of Barcelona. Barcelona lost the league title today ”, Van Halst is convinced.
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According to Van Halst, Umtiti is also guilty of the 1-1 of Celta de Vigo: the French center-back should not have covered on Méndez but should have taken on Yoksulu instead.
Finally, Van Halst is of the opinion that Rakitic should ‘perfectly fulfill the role that Busquets normally plays in the midfield of Barcelona. “But you see that he lacks the real passion. Whether it is also a question of rhythm? No, in the absence of rhythm, for example, the pass accuracy is a bit lacking. This is simply due to whether you are willing to take extra meters or not. At Rakitic that was certainly not the case a number of times today. “
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