Rise of a Football God-Chapter 429 - 16 days of death

Lining up in a 5-3-2 formation, this was a dynamic Mallorca side.

With Greif holding the fort as their goalkeeper, Maffeo, Valjent, Raillo, Copete, and Mojica formed the valiant 5-man defense.

Ahead of them was the midfield trio of Rodriguez, Costa, and Darder, while further of them in attack was Abdon and Larin.

As soon as the game started, for the first few minutes, FC Barcelona dominated possession but the visitors had the more clear-cut chances.

Nerves were high at the Spotify Camp Nou for a few minutes, right until Ferran Torres struck in the 12th minute of the game, scoring the first goal.

The Spotify Camp Nou celebrated the goal exuberantly, bringing some much-needed calmness to the stadium but that calmness didn't last.

Just 3 minutes after Ferran Torres' goal, Mallorca equalized.

Darder, the center midfielder was the one who did, scoring an absolute banger from outside the box as he volleyed the ball in with venom.

That goal rattled Marc Andre Ter Stegen.

In the blink of an eye, 1-1.

After that goal, Barcelona cracked down with their players, Raphinha leading the charge to score the 2nd goal even as Frankie De Jong tried to orchestrate play from deep in Pedri's absence.

It didn't yield much fruit though, the midfield seemed disjointed without the calming presence of Pedri Gonzalez.

The first half came to an end 1-1 for the 2nd consecutive league game.

During halftime, Hansi Flick had a fiery team talk with his players, refusing to make any change.

But as soon as his players returned to the pitch for the second half, they played with energy, but they lacked cohesion and balance.

Barca seemed to have lost their identity and just 7 minutes after the 2nd half started, Mallorca capitulated on their opponent's weakness.

This time, it was one of the 2 center forwards, Larin.

With a clever run, he was able to beat Barcelona's offside trap, running with the ball before shooting past a helpless Ter Stegen.

52 minutes, 1-2…

While the away fans celebrated excitedly, large swathes of the Spotify Camp Nou was left in stunned silence.

And yet, that was not all.

In the 62nd minute, 10 minutes after his first goal, Larin got his brace after another perfect sequence of deceiving Barcelona's offside trap as this time, taking the ball calmly in his strides, he lobbed Ter Stegen, scoring his team's 3rd goal of the night.

In the blink of an eye, Barcelona was trailing by 2 goals!

Hansi Flick finally made changes, taking off Gavi, pushing Dani Olmo to the attacking midfield spot while introducing Sam and Lamine Yamal.

The impact of the substitutes was felt almost immediately.

In the 65th minute, Sam slipped a ball to Raphinha whose first touch flicked it into Dani Olmo's path.

The Spanish attacking midfielder calmly rolled the ball into the box with his right foot and then with his left, he rifled it into the net.

GOALLLLLL…!!!

The fans in the Spotify Camp Nou roared with barely suppressed anger.

Their voices were now extremely loud, and riding this energy, FC Barcelona dug into their dogged reserves, Sam leading the charge.

Just 2 minutes after Dani Olmo's goal, Raphinha did it again, this time Sam once again slipping a deceiving pass into his path.

One touch shot!

BAM!

The Brazilian didn't even try to control the ball and despite his awkward stance, he hit the ball first time with venom, sending it straight to the roof of the net through the middle.

The Mallorca goalkeeper jumped, flailing his arms but he didn't get it; the ball flashed past him before he could react.

In the blink of an eye, 3-3!

BZZZ!

The atmosphere at the Spotify Camp Nou was now electric.

It was fever pitch tension.

Barcelona attacked, while Mallorca now defended for their lives, sometimes coming out of their shell with half-hearted counterattacks that were quickly snuffed out before they could become dangerous.

70 minutes, no goal…

80 minutes, no goal…

90 minutes, no goal…

90 plus 2 minutes, no goal…

90 plus 5 minutes, no goal…

90 plus 7 minutes…

FWEEE!

Dani Olmo won a penalty for Barcelona!

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In the 90 plus 7 minute.

Sam stood over the ball, facing the goalkeeper who tried to taunt him to throw him off his game. He smiled slightly.

FWEEE!

As soon as the referee's whistle sounded, he took a deep breath and did a short run, then a calculated stagger to through the goalkeeper off, then…

Bam!

He calmly hit it towards the top right corner, leaving the goalkeeper little chance though he dived the right way.

The ball nestled its way inside the net.

4-3…

BOOM!

The Spotify Camp Nou erupted, celebrating the pivotal game exuberantly like they already won the league.

And most importantly, they celebrated because it was a good way to enter the next 16 days of death that would decide their team's season.

After today's game against Mallorca, from 26th April, within a period of 16 days, FC Barcelona would play both legs of the UEFA Champions league semifinal against Inter Milan, while also facing Real Madrid, their eternal rivals in El Clasico twice, the first one in the Copa del Rey final.

So yes, FC Barcelona was in their period of death.

The period that would make or break their season.