"Several players stepped up during Barcelona's win over Elche last night, with Lamine Yamal and Frenkie de Jong stealing the limelight with masterclasses. The defence, however, also looked significantly better on the night as they stuck to their lines, pushed up in attack at the right times and did not struggle under pressure. Alejandro Balde, on that front, had one of his best performances for the team in recent times, while Eric Garcia kept up his strong level once more. Both players reflected on the team's performance and result after the game."
"Balde's optimism Barcelona defender Alejandro Balde opened up to the media about the tactical battle that unfolded at the Estadio Martinez Valero last night and how the Catalans knew exactly what to expect. "We knew Elche weren't a deep block team, they like to play football. It was important to score early." He then gave his two cents on the missed chances, largely taking away positives from the situation. "We should have scored many more goals, but it's fine. We played very well and are proud to continue like this," he added."
"Eric Garcia's warning His teammate Eric Garcia, however, was far more alert with his interpretation of the game and resonated with the sentiment that it was like the recent clash against Real Sociedad. "This was similar to the Real Sociedad game, especially in the first half. We create so, so, many chances and we struggle to score." Urging his teammates to step up and do better with converting chances moving forward to the big games, the La Masia graduate said, "Today we missed so many chances and we were fine, but imagine in another situation." "You can't miss that many chances in a Champions League knockout game, for example," he added. Finally, he admitted that there was good reason to be happy and proud of the team's performance on the night, saying, "We know that we have to improve. We are actually improving, so we are happy with our perfo"
Barcelona secured a win over Elche with standout contributions from Lamine Yamal and Frenkie de Jong and noticeably improved defensive organization. The defence held lines, pushed forward at the right moments and coped well under pressure, with Alejandro Balde delivering one of his best recent performances and Eric Garcia maintaining strong form. Balde emphasized the need to score early against a team that prefers to play rather than sit deep. Garcia warned that the team created many chances but struggled to convert, stressing that such wastefulness would be dangerous in high-stakes matches like Champions League knockouts.
Read at Barca Universal
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]