The likes of Frenkie de Jong, Gavi and Fermin Lopez could also be again, however for now, Marc Casado continues to carry a beginning spot, and it’s straightforward to see why.
The 21-year-old midfielder has been delivering distinctive performances, proving himself to be one in every of Barcelona’s standout gamers, particularly throughout current high-stakes matches.
Within the intense derby towards Actual Madrid on the Santiago Bernabeu, he confirmed his imaginative and prescient and precision with a formidable help to Robert Lewandowski, serving to the ahead open the scoring.
Following this, within the conflict towards Espanyol, Casado supplied one more completely positioned go to Raphinha, establishing Barcelona’s second objective of the match.
Numbers present the affect
Casado’s stats this season communicate for themselves, with 5 assists already below his belt, together with three consecutive ones in vital matches.
In addition to his assists to Lewandowski and Raphinha, he additionally made a shocking cross-field go to Raphinha through the recreation towards Bayern Munich.
This makes him the first Spanish Barcelona participant to realize three consecutive assists because the 2014-15 season—a notable accomplishment in itself.
Marc Casado has 5 assists to his identify this season. (Picture by Pedro Salado/Getty Pictures)
Furthermore, he assisted Lamine Yamal towards Monaco and Pedri towards Girona, additional showcasing his playmaking capacity.
Casado is completely different
What units Casado aside is his stability of offensive creativity and defensive stability. He’s not only a passer; he’s a relentless ball-winner as properly.
Over his final three video games, Casado has recovered possession 16 instances, demonstrating his capacity to interrupt up the opposition’s play and regain management for Barcelona.
His precision is equally spectacular—he has solely misplaced possession twice in these three matches, underscoring his reliability on the ball.
The midfielder’s affect is probably much more notable in a squad full of offensive powerhouses like Lewandowski, Lamine Yamal, and Raphinha.
Whereas these forwards always push for objectives, Casado operates as a quiet anchor within the midfield, offering stability and imaginative and prescient.
Even with Barcelona’s key midfielders step by step returning, Casado has remained very important. Supervisor Hansi Flick has substituted him across the 70-minute mark in current video games, but the younger midfielder makes a profound affect each time he steps onto the pitch.
*Participant valuation in title obtained from transfermarkt.com on the date of publication.