Barça B wanted to extend its good momentum against Badalona, having won two consecutive matches and being unbeaten at Johan Cruyff Stadium all season long, and they did so by wrecking a visitor team that took more damage than they deserved. Álex Collado guided the blaugrana and scored a brace.
García Pimienta’s squad started the season in a very irregular way, which is normal having more than half of the roster making their debuts in FC Barcelona’s second team, but time and work are proving that the coach is doing an excellent job. Today, with a bit of luck, they were slightly superior to their rival during almost all the match.
The fixture started with the news about the Oriol Busquets’ recovery, third captain of the team and its leader in the first stage of the season, while Collado was still healing from his injury. And once the match started good news just kept coming: 5 minutes into the game and an own-goal following a corner kick by Konrad gave an early advantage to the team.
Sadly, Barça B was unable to take control of the game and possession was divided, so the narrow result was in danger for Pimi’s boys. The sensation that control and dominance were lacking absolutely vanished in the second half, where Barça B’s high pressure capitalized, and the game started to look more familiar to the squad.
Once everything was settled, Álex Collado started to excel and took control of the game. He combined with Manaj to end up hitting the net and took advantage of Jandro Orellana’s skills to orchestrate the midfield. Meanwhile, bad decisions and frustration piled up for Badalona, and two of their players were sent off the pitch. First, a bad move of the keeper left Manaj alone outside the area, and the only chance to stop him was grabbing the ball. Then, a centre-back pushed Manaj with no ball in play, and the striker scored the penalty kick to make it 3-0.
With the match solved for Barça, Oriol Busquets played again after two hard months, and Balde, Nico, Peque and Nils also had a few minutes. Everyone was already looking to the changing room in extra time, everyone but Collado. In the last play of the match, he took a corner-kick with a marvellous effect that confused Badalona’s defence and surpassed the goal line. Olympic goal for him to close a really good game.
Barça B is now second on the table, and if they get to win next week against Gimnàstic, they’ll be on top. García Pimienta and the team are doing an excellent work, and it’s finally paying off: three consecutive wins and excellent vibes to face the next challenge.
