Injury concerns loom large internally in Barcelona’s camp with several key players ruled out of action against Athletic Club. On the outside, financial and registration issues leave the administration without a face to show.
Considering all the internal and external hurdles the team faces, their start to the new La Liga season has been simply sensational.
After beating Valencia at Mestalla, the Catalans saw off Athletic Club at home last night to make it six points in their first two league games, a feat only matched by Celta Vigo so far this season.
Lamine Yamal opened the scoring on the night with a great finish from outside the box, but an error by Pau Cubarsi gifted the visitors a chance to equalise from the penalty spot.
In the end, Robert Lewandowski was Barcelona’s saviour once more as he netted the winner for the Blaugrana in the 75th minute.
Barça Universal brings you three takeaways from last night’s performance.
A golden midfield duo
Hansi Flick surprised everyone with his team selection against Athletic Club as he opted to deploy young Marc Bernal alongside Pedri in the double pivot on the night.
For starters, his decision to choose Bernal over the more established and solid Marc Casado was surprising, and deploying Pedri alongside the 17-year-old was all the more bizarre.
Marc Bernal was very impressive against Athletic Club. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
Once the game kicked off, however, it did not take long to see the dynamics Flick had planned behind the scenes and both Bernal and Pedri executed their roles to perfection.
The 17-year-old academy ace was primarily tasked as the main pivot and his flawless distribution and defensive awareness were both on point.
Bernal not only maintained control of the team’s possession but also held his line to break any counter-attacks and completed the game with a staggering 96% pass accuracy and 100% dribbles completed.
Pedri, meanwhile,…
Source link : https://barcauniversal.com/three-things-that-hansi-flick-can-make-out-of-barcelonas-2-1-win-over-athletic-club/
Author : Adithya Eshwarla
Publish date : 2024-08-25 06:40:00
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