Barcelona’s win at Juventus felt like a throwback to their era of domination under Pep Guardiola…
There were two scorelines that stood out from Barcelona‘s victory over Juventus in midweek: the 2-0 that mattered most, and the 59.3 per cent to 40.7 per cent possession statistic that also jumped off the page of Uefa’s post-match information sheets.
Ronald Koeman’s side had finished the game with almost 20 per cent more of the ball than Juventus and that felt like a throwback to their habitual domination under Pep Guardiola more than a decade ago.
They had done it in Italy too, against the Serie A champions and they had done it with kids. So from the winter of discontent comes, not quite glorious summer, but springtime at least.
Barcelona supporters, down in the mouth last weekend after a Clasico defeat and still bemoaning their president’s refusal to stand-down, had been lifted, not only, by the resignation of Josep Bartomeu but by watching a side built on the talents of two 17-year-olds win in Turin.
On Saturday they will celebrate Ansu Fati’s 18th birthday with plenty of optimism for the way this season is likely to pan-out. With Fati starring alongside still 17-year-old Pedri they believe the best young talent in football is theirs and that in Ronald Koeman they have the right man to guide the youngest squad in La Liga.
Bartomeu’s last big decision it seems was actually a well-taken one – they have the right coach to get the best out of all the potential.
Much has been made of how the departure of Bartomeu will allow the club to hold elections at the start of January and have a new board installed while the transfer market is still open.
