The victory of paradox: the hot notes from Barça-Eintracht

BarcelonaA hard-fought victory for Barça against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League (2-1). Two goals from Koundé in three minutes secured the three points at the Camp Nou. Here are some immediate observations.

The paradoxes of football. The Camp Nou was hosting the team with the most goals conceded in both the Champions League and the Bundesliga. Eintracht Frankfurt had just suffered a humiliating 6-0 defeat in Leipzig, and it was expected that Barça, with Pedri and Raphinha fully recovered, would have no trouble imposing their will and banishing their European demons. The Blaugrana arrived at the match after a week of positive results and feelings. Everything pointed to a comfortable night, their first continental home game at the Camp Nou in over two and a half years, with no room for surprises. But football is so unpredictable that the necessary victory only came after meticulously crafting countless plays in tight spaces, gritting their teeth in the opposition's half, and taking calculated risks in defense.

Stone and what else. The haters De Jong's absence will not be the only blame placed on the Dutchman this time. They will have to work harder to justify Barça's lack of ideas in creating play against an opponent camped in their own half. Only Pedri – once again the best player for Barça – and Lamine Yamal were able to trouble a very well-organized Eintracht side in a frustrating first half. That said, Flick's decision to stick with Eric Garcia in midfield even in an important European match speaks volumes about the manager from Martorell, but also reflects poorly on Barça's squad planning. Is it sustainable to have a recently renewed and expensive player like De Jong on the bench? Is it normal for the team to face matches where they should be the protagonists with three and a half center-backs in the starting lineup? It is somewhat contradictory, indeed.

Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. To continue with the paradoxes, it turns out that Koundé, one of those defenders who contributes to the attack, was the one who transformed into a goalscorer to turn the game around in just three minutes. The Frenchman, moreover, contradicted himself (in a positive way) with that brace, since shortly before he had made two defensive errors that allowed Eintracht to come close to a 2-0 lead coming out of halftime. Especially that year, Koundé embodied a stark contrast. He was just as capable of forgetting a basic marking assignment or misplacing an easy pass in his own half as he was of being undetectable in the opposition's half and charging into the box like a seasoned striker. With four forwards on the pitch, and against the traditionally imposing German defense, Barça won the match with two headers from a defender.

To do a hat-trick It doesn't matter. Flick's spreadsheet was ruthless in recognizing Ferran Torres' three goals at Betis. The Valencian striker's decisive performance at La Cartuja wasn't enough to keep him in the starting lineup for a Champions League match where Lewandowski again showed his limitations when marked by strong center-backs. The Polish striker missed an absurd penalty a week ago against Atlético Madrid and was expendable against Eintracht Frankfurt. With Raphinha available again, recent developments have made it clear that the first option, at least for the most difficult matches, should be to play without a fixed striker, prioritizing mobility and a more dynamic pressing style than the 37-year-old Lewandowski can deliver. Consistency in the use of resources, please.