It seems that Barcelona finally has a project that seems solid.
Hansi Flick has started the season well by winning his first four games, but he has not only led his team to easy victories. Against tough opponents like Athletic Club or Valencia at Mestalla, Barcelona have shown their superiority – and against a more conciliatory opponent like Valladolid, they crushed them at Montjuic on Saturday afternoon.
Flick’s team won 7-0 in a match that brought smiles back to the faces of the fans and the team thanks to a hat-trick from Raphinha and goals from Robert Lewandowski, Jules Kounde, Dani Olmo and Ferran Torres.
The last time Barça achieved such a result in La Liga was in March 2014 against Osasuna.
Barcelona’s good run has surprised many given a summer of austere signings and the club’s situation last season, and contrasts with a galactic Real Madrid that was to be feared but has had a poor start to the season.
The AthleticLaia Cervello Herrero analyses the key points of Saturday’s demolition job against Valladolid.
How did Barcelona cope without Marc Bernal?
Marc Bernal struggled to find his place in the stands, moving with all the agility his crutches allowed him while Thiago helped him.
Bernal, 17, has only played three official games for the first team and is still part of the reserve team. Despite this, the midfielder’s anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, sustained against Rayo Vallecano in midweek, was a blow to Barcelona and their fans.
How to compensate for the absence of Bernal, who started the first three games of the season? This was one of the most recurring questions during the pre-match press conference.
“We will replace him with the team we already have and that is enough for me,” Flick replied. An answer as simple as it was obvious.
Flick’s solution was to select Marc Casado as a defensive pivot. Casado and Bernal played together in a double pivot that worked very well in pre-season, and it seemed likely that the 20-year-old would be the one to get game time in La Liga from the start of the campaign, as he had more time under his belt in the first-team dynamic.
Bernal is still very young and in full physical growth. In fact, over the last year he has grown a few centimeters. However, since the beginning of the season, he seems to be Flick’s preferred option in this position.
Against Valladolid, his substitute Casado focused on defensive tasks and connected well with his two midfield colleagues, Pedri and Dani Olmo.
The midfield was working well, creating plenty of chances and reminiscent of the type of Barca teams of old.
Flick shares a hug with Marc Casado, who replaced the injured Marc Bernal in midfield (Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
Raphinha and Kounde’s redemption story reaches new heights
Raphinha touched the ball after scoring his third goal against Valladolid and the entire stadium roared: “Captain, captain” – a scene unthinkable a few months ago, when criticism was raining down on the Brazilian.
He finished the match with a hat-trick and an assist for Ferran Torres, and he even seemed embarrassed to show the ball that credited him as the author of those three goals when he did a flash interview after the match.
Jules Kounde was another scorer of one of Barca’s seven goals. He reacted quickest to a loose ball in the box after a corner and fired home.
Kounde and Raphinha are examples of how the situation can change if you put your mind to it.
In the middle of last season, many were calling for their departure. Some fans felt that they were not up to the club’s standards and that their performances were not worthy of a club like Barça.
They did not respond directly to the criticism and by their silence they changed everyone’s mind.
Defender Jules Kounde celebrates his goal against Valladolid (Pedro Salado/Getty Images)
Both players have one thing in common: they play in positions that are not their natural positions. Koundé was a central defender and for years he publicly and privately asked to play in this position but, for reasons of necessity and performance, he was always placed in the right-back position in the Barça jersey.
Raphinha, meanwhile, was waiting for his chance to start on the right flank while Ousmane Dembélé was at the club. Dembélé left for Paris Saint-Germain and it seemed that the position was available for the Brazilian. But then a youngster from the youth academy called Lamine Yamal arrived.
When Raphinha got injured, Yamal’s good performances showed that he was going to be a pillar of the team for the coming seasons. A star was born and nothing could stop him. Raphinha saw his place taken away by a 16-year-old but he accepted it sportingly, continued to work and sought to adapt to other positions to stay fit.
After receiving criticism, Kounde and Raphinha responded with a lot of work and attitude. If the Frenchman was asked to play full-back, he would do it. If the Brazilian had to play on the left side, in midfield or elsewhere, he would do it too.
Today, both players are considered heroes within the club. They have completely turned the situation around, to the point that Raphinha was elected one of the four captains of Flick’s team. Both enjoy a great relationship with the fans, who cheer them on every time they touch the ball.
Dani Olmo shines in his first start
Dani Olmo was Barcelona’s only signing – apart from Pau Victor, who was loaned to Barça Atletic from Girona last season – in a tough summer.
The Spanish international may have felt the pressure of having all the spotlight on him and yet he adapted very quickly to the team and got immediate results. It’s not surprising, as he is a product of La Masia, but he was away for many years before returning home.
“I know Dani Olmo very well. He’s a fantastic player,” Flick said after the game. “He’s incredible in midfield. What he does with Pedri gives us a great balance. We need both of them for the transition from defence to attack.”
Summer signing Dani Olmo impressed (Manaure Quintero/AFP via Getty Images)
Olmo formed a solid midfield alongside Pedri, whom he replaced in the starting eleven during the Euro with Spain. Both helped Casado, while Olmo also showed great complicity with Lewandowski. They understand each other very well and it is no coincidence that the Olmo-Pedri duo coincides with the great performance of the Polish striker, who scored Barcelona’s second goal in the afternoon.
Olmo helped to move the team, to make it more offensive and, on another day, he could have scored more than one goal. He put the ball in the back of the net early in the match, but his shot was disallowed for offside and he sent two balls onto the post.
The Spaniard smiled as he celebrated his goals, pointing to the clock as if to say: “It was time to go home.”
What’s next for Barcelona?
September 14-15 (date and time to be announced): Girona (A), La Liga.
(Top photo: Alex Caparros/Getty Images)