Huesca 0-0 Barça: Very Good

Very nice performance, and a clean sheet. All good.

Even without 10 of their regular starters to begin the game, Barcelona put on an awesome performance with the reserves and young players and picked up a clean sheet plus a very nice point on a 0-0 draw against Huesca. The Blaugrana dominated the entire game and did not suffer at any point, and the only thing missing was the goal. Given this game doesn’t really impact the title race and the reserves were given a chance to shine, this was really a very good afternoon for the virtual champions.

FIRST HALF

Barça had a bit of an anxious start, keeping the ball at the back and in midfield but unable to find the attacking players in the final third, while Huesca stayed solid defensively and tried to create chances on the counter, which didn’t really happen in the first 15 minutes. As time went on and Riqui Puig and Ousmane Dembélé got on the ball, however, Barça started to look more dangerous and the chances started coming.

The one problem was the final ball: whenever the Blaugrana needed to make a pass before the shot, they weren’t precise enough with it and the chances were wasted. It was really the story of the first half, because the team was really good at everything else: the passing was smart, quick and sharp at the back and in midfield, the defense was really solid and the movement without the ball from the wingers was really good.

At halftime, Barça were playing really well despite all the changes, and a very encouraging first half performance had them in a nice position to get the win.

SECOND HALF

After three or four good minutes from Huesca to start the second half, Barça went back to dominating and creating chances, and the goal was starting to feel inevitable, especially after a sequence where Malcom hit the post and Carles Aleñá would have scored if not for a vital block in front of the goal by the Huesca defense.

Valverde sensed the win was close, so he brought Jordi Alba and Philippe Coutinho from the bench to finish the job. The substitutions hurt the team, however, as Alba and Coutinho looked slow and uninterested while Huesca started pressing higher up the pitch and troubled the Blaugrana passing. Valverde made one last roll of the dice with Arthur coming on for Aleñá with 10 minutes to go, but it didn’t really affect the result.

The final whistle came to end a very good performance from the reserves, who deserve a lot of credit for playing together for the first time and looking really good. Atlético Madrid will probably beat Celta Vigo and cut our lead to nine points, but it doesn’t really matter right now.

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Barcelona: Ter Stegen; Todibo, Murillo, Umtiti; Wagué, Aleñá (Arthur), Vidal, Puig (Alba), Malcom; Dembélé (Coutinho), Boateng

Goals: None

Huesca: Santamaría; Miramón, Etxeita, Pulido, Galán; Juanpi (Melero), Rivera, Moi Gómez; Ávila (Gallar), Gallego, Ferreiro (Cucho)

Goals: None

Source: barcablaugranes.com