Barcelona vs. Deportivo La Coruna: Winners and Losers from La Liga Game
Barcelona may have already secured the Primera Division title prior to Saturday's final game, but there was still plenty of drama at the Camp Nou as Deportivo La Coruna came from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 and secure their top-flight status for another season.
On a day billed as Xavi's emotional goodbye to the club he has dedicated his entire career to, everything looked to be going by the book as two goals from Lionel Messi gave the hosts a commanding advantage midway through the second half.
Deportivo had hardly posed a threat throughout the first hour, yet somehow they scored two impressive goals in the closing stages of the game—one from local lad Lucas Perez, the other from Diogo Salomao—to steal a draw out of nowhere.
It would prove to be vitally important too; Deportivo ultimately avoiding relegation by the skin of their teeth, thanks only to their head-to-head record against Granada and (relegated) Eibar.
Click on for some winners and losers from the game.
Winner: Xavi
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Regardless of the result, it was clear this was always going to be Xavi Hernandez's day—the veteran midfielder saying goodbye to the fans he gave so much pleasure to over a glittering playing career.
He may have one date remaining at the Camp Nou—the Copa del Rey final against Athletic Bilbao—before he rides off to his next adventure, but this was the game where Barcelona pulled out all the stops to pay tribute to one of their greatest ever players.
A pre-match tifo saluting his greatness, a special inscription on all the Barcelona shirts, a specific hashtag for the occasion (#6racieXavi), a standing ovation when he was substituted and, at the end of it all, the honour of lifting the title. It was a special day for the midfielder, one he will never forget.
At 35 years old, it is hard to begrudge Xavi his "retirement" (he will continue playing in Qatar for Al Sadd), although it is to his enduring credit that there is no suggestion at all that his powers have waned significantly.
This season, and Saturday's game, underlined his continued class, as the Spain international passed the ball around with his customary brilliance—dictating the tempo for the Blaugrana. The fact his side did not win was undoubtedly disappointing, but as much a result of Barcelona's lack of incentive to win (and heavy rotation of the starting lineup) as any poor performers among the home side.
Barcelona will undoubtedly miss Xavi even if, in the emerging Rafinha, they seem to have a ready-made player of potentially similar class. He will have to go some way to match Xavi's career achievements, however.
A truly world-class player, and Saturday was a fitting celebration of his career and legacy.
Speaking afterward on the pitch, the player said (per Goal):
"Good afternoon everyone, thank you for everything. Thank you very much, for today and all these seasons.
You do not know how proud I am to be a Barca player, we are the best team in the world whatever they say.
I would like to thank my wife, parents, friends, they are amazing. See you in 15 days, this is not over, we want the cup and the Champions League. Visca Barca and Visca Catalunya!
"
Loser: Luis Enrique
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OK, so "loser" is a strong term to use in conjunction with a manager who drew a meaningless match, but then again the article isn't called "winners and vaguely controversial figures." Luis Enrique will doubtless be disappointed at his side's inability to kill of this game, but with a treble still to play for, he is unlikely to lose any sleep over it.
Others might, of course. At this stage of the season, there is always a lot of talk about the "integrity of the league," and whether teams with nothing to play for will field full-strength teams—and give 100 percent effort—against those sides still battling for relegation.
That is certainly a charge that can be levelled against Barcelona on Saturday: Not only did they name a rotated side (Thomas Vermaelen and Jordi Masip making their debuts) but they threw away a two-goal lead in quite uncharacteristic fashion, a formerly lock-tight defence suddenly becoming extremely porous.
That may cause some annoyance to minnows Eibar, who were relegated thanks to Deportivo's comeback. They will rightly ask: If this game had taken place earlier in the season, when the title was still on the line, would Victor Sanchez's side have come close to gaining a point?
It is a valid enquiry. It will be interesting to see what criticism, if any, Luis Enrique gets for his team selection and tactical decisions for this game. It meant nothing to Barcelona, but it had huge ramifications at the bottom of the table.
Winner: Fabricio
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The goalscorers for Deportivo will get much of the credit, but it was the brilliance of goalkeeper Fabricio that kept the visitors in the game long enough to recover.
It was fitting that Lucas Perez, a local boy and perhaps their most consistent performer this season, gave Depor hope with his brilliant finish, and obviously Diogo Salomao is going to receive a hero's welcome when the team returns home, but both should thank Fabricio for making it all possible.
The goalkeeper could do nothing for either Lionel Messi goal, but he made a string of brilliant saves around them to keep his side in the game, at different points denying Messi a hat-trick, Neymar a couple of goals, and even (sacrilege!) Xavi a farewell goal with an impressive reflex stop.
At 2-0 down, it all looked rather hopeless, rather like he was auditioning for a summer transfer then genuinely keeping his team's survival hopes alive. Football always has the potential to surprise, of course, and so it proved in the end.
Fabricio was not the hero in the end, but his contribution to Deportivo's crucial draw should not be overlooked. Without him, Barcelona would have been out of sight long before the final 20 minutes.
Loser: Eibar
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The big losers on the day? Undoubtedly Eibar, who hammered already-relegated Cordoba in their final league game of the season yet nevertheless found themselves relegated thanks to Deportivo's unlikely point.
As previously mentioned, the Basque minnows can rightfully wonder whether the vagaries of the fixture list, and Barcelona's lack of interest on the final day, played a large part in their eventual downfall. Having been safe in the live league standings for much of the afternoon, it will be especially galling that they were the ones plummeting through the trap door at the end.
Then again, they can hardly complain too loudly. At the end of the day, the club's form in the first half of the season put them in pole position to survive with room to spare, yet they subsequently picked up just five points from 18 games (so a potential 54 points) prior to the final day.
The ultimate manner of their relegation may sting, but Eibar cannot exactly say they didn't deserve to go down.
Winner: Victor Sanchez
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What a memorable afternoon for Deportivo manager Victor Sanchez, who must have gone through the whole gamut of emotions before ultimately discovering his side had stayed up.
Already inextricably linked to the club he played for—he helped them win the league title in 2000 and the Copa del Rey a year later—the former midfielder has now made himself even more of a club hero, avoiding relegation on the final day in the most dramatic of circumstances.
Sanchez can hardly take full credit for the turnaround, as ultimately it was a combination of Barcelona's wavering concentration and a few lucky strikes that contributed to the two goals. But he can certainly take some of it: At two points early in the game he was forced into substitutions, and on both occasions he made pro-active, attacking moves that showed his awareness of the overall situation and a willingness to go out on his shield if needs be.
Both his substitutions worked well, with Haris Medunjanin and Oriol Riera both creating dangerous moments for the team toward the end of the game. Ultimately Deportivo were lucky, but Sanchez may rightfully suggest that he created some of his own luck along the way.
''Our supporters have a song that says this team never surrenders and that's what happened,'' Victor Sanchez said (via Yahoo). ''We had the capacity to respond and this is the recompense for a job well done.''
