Pedri returns to take full control
Injured in the Clásico against Real Madrid a month ago, Pedri returned to play against Alavés. Half an hour was enough for the Canarian to confirm that with him, Barcelona plays on another level. No one like Pedri dominates space-time in a football match, and with his entry onto the field, the team enjoyed the best minutes in terms of control, ball possession, and positional play.
Barcelona, Nov 30 (EFE).- Although after the victory against Deportivo Alavés (3-1), which temporarily places Barcelona at the top of the table, Hansi Flick admitted that his team still does not have the "intensity and control" of last season, the German coach is still convinced that in the coming weeks, Barcelona will recover its best version. These are the five keys on which the coach bases his reasoning, saying he is very satisfied with what he is seeing in training and is optimistic because, little by little, he is recovering the injured players.
- Barcelona regains intensity in pressing with Raphinha's return
After playing a few minutes against Athletic and Chelsea after two months away from the pitch due to a muscular injury, Raphinha was again a starter and infected the rest of the team with his intensity in pressing.
"I know I'm very pesky with my teammates, too much even, but someone on the field has to play that role and I assume it. I want the others to follow me. I like to demand from those I know can give more," he explained after Saturday's match. Against Alavés, in addition to leadership and defensive work, Raphinha once again brought his mobility in attack, his ability to read spaces like no one else, and two goal assists to Lamine Yamal (although Lewandowski touched the ball slightly and the statistics gave it to the Polish forward) and to Dani Olmo.
- With Joan García's return, security returns under the posts
Joan García returned to the goal against Athletic after his meniscus operation, and Barcelona again kept a clean sheet for the first time in ten matches. After his discreet performance at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea (3-0) in the Champions League, Joan García again saved his team against Alavés with two spectacular interventions. A true lifesaver not only for what he does but for what he transmits to his teammates.
- Gerard Martín as a left center-back to free up Cubarsí
Flick tried it during the preseason, but it was not until the day of the Athletic match that Gerard Martín, the natural replacement for Balde at left-back, officially became a center-back. Against Alavés, the Barça coach put him in that position again in the starting eleven, and Gerard Martín fulfilled his role with flying colors. With a shortage of left center-backs, the player from Esplugues de Llobregat seems to be the ideal solution to return Cubarsí to the right profile, where he performs better and has fewer problems with building up from the back.
- The return to Spotify Camp Nou
After two and a half years in the cold Olympic Stadium Lluís Companys, Barcelona returned to Spotify Camp Nou — still under construction — for the match against Athletic, celebrating the return with a thrashing (4-0) in front of 45,000 spectators. It is expected that by the end of the year, the capacity of the first and second tiers will be completed so that the team can be supported by 60,000 fans. The new stadium must give an extra boost to this Barcelona, which has longed to come home for a long time.
Photo EFE
The entrance
The 5 keys in which Flick bases his reasoning to say "we are going to see a better Barcelona"
First published in La Verdad Panamá.
