{"id":1144961,"date":"2020-06-13T23:23:10","date_gmt":"2020-06-13T22:23:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?p=1144961"},"modified":"2021-03-30T10:02:04","modified_gmt":"2021-03-30T09:02:04","slug":"mallorca-0-4-barcelona-five-things-learned-match-analysis-messi-braithwaite-griezmann-kubo","status":"publish","type":"features","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/mallorca-0-4-barcelona-five-things-learned-match-analysis-messi-braithwaite-griezmann-kubo\/","title":{"rendered":"“He is the striker that Barcelona need” – Five things learned from the Blaugrana’s 4-0 battering of Mallorca"},"content":{"rendered":"

In an impressive night of football, Barcelona smashed Mallorca 0-4 at the Visit Mallorca Estadi.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Blaugrana extended their lead at the top of La Liga with a supremely comfortable 0-4 win on the road, which is not something they’ve been able to do much at all this season. Four goals from four different scorers gave Barcelona the win, but what did we learn?<\/p>\n

\"Black<\/a>

Black Lives Matter:<\/span> Read more about the cause footballers are taking the knee for<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

1. Braithwaite’s simplicity is genius<\/strong><\/h2>\n

When Barcelona signed Martin Braithwaite, eyebrows were raised and not just because they signed him outside the transfer window. Obviously the Dane came in as an emergency signing following Ousmane Demb\u00e9l\u00e9’s season-ending injury, but given his lowly reputation people viewed it as more of a panic signing, a joke of a transfer on par with Julien Faubert joining Real Madrid.<\/p>\n

Today he proved emphatically why he is an almost perfect signing for Barcelona. Sure, Braithwaite is not world-class nor even close, but he is a player who possesses great pace and tactical intelligence and most importantly: a willingness to run off the ball.<\/p>\n

All Braithwaite did against Mallorca was lurk off the ball and make runs into space. He often didn’t get the ball, but he repeatedly opened up space for team-mates with his movement. He was so good at moving off the ball that on 37 minutes he found himself in space right into the middle of the box when Messi deftly headed the ball his way.<\/p>\n

And when the ball fell to him he, in classic Braithwaite fashion, didn’t overcomplicate things. The Dane just focused and hit it high and hard into the roof of the net to double the Blaugrana’s lead. It was a supreme goal, and his movement was on display again around the hour when he made a nice short run in behind to meet a Messi pass and almost scored but for an amazing save from Manolo Reina. All night long he ran and ran, constantly giving Barcelona a vertical threat.<\/p>\n

Martin Braithwaite isn’t the striker that Barcelona wanted, but he is absolutely the striker that Barcelona needed.<\/p>\n

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3 – Martin Braithwaite has become the third Danish player to score for @FCBarcelona<\/a> in @LaLigaEN<\/a> history, after Michael Laudrup (39 goals) and Allan Simonsen (31). Premiere. pic.twitter.com\/uTXKst4XmA<\/a><\/p>\n

— OptaJose (@OptaJose) June 13, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n