Barcelona might not have been pleased with La Liga’s resolution to play the sport in hand towards Osasuna final night time, however then stepped up and confirmed that they’re able to successful with ease even with the a number of constraints imposed on them.
Ferran Torres opened the scoring with an instinctive end across the ten-minute mark earlier than Dani Olmo calmly slotted the ball into the again of the online from the penalty spot earlier than half-time.
Osasuna tried to mount a comeback within the second interval however a deadly counterattack from Barcelona killed their hopes and solidified the end result, giving Hansi Flick’s males all three factors past doubt.
Barça Common brings you three speaking factors from Barcelona 3-0 Osasuna.
10/10 for squad administration
Hansi Flick has actually modified the way in which Barcelona enter and see video games underneath his administration and his contribution in direction of enhancing the staff’s self-belief is invaluable.
One other side that he has been spot-on because the day he took over, evidently, is within the administration of the squad each by way of rotations and staff choice.
With Barcelona’s recreation towards Osasuna being confirmed fairly late and nonetheless tangibly in the course of the worldwide break, the supervisor was left in a scenario the place some key gamers had simply returned from worldwide obligation whereas others accrued heavy minutes in the course of the hiatus.
His man-management final night time deserves a ten out of 10 given the circumstances he was confronted with and the way he dealt with the scenario easily with none panic.
For starters, Raphinha was not included within the squad record for the sport to make sure he will get adequate relaxation after Brazil’s high-octane conflict towards Argentina whereas Ronald Araujo stayed on the bench all through regardless of being within the squad.
Robert Lewandowski, who had a busy obligation with Poland contemplating his age, began on the bench as properly and solely got here on late within the second half.
Frenkie de Jong, in the meantime, began the sport however was taken off as early as half-time given his hectic schedule in current weeks and the necessity for precaution.
Additional, the supervisor didn’t name on Pau Cubarsi in any capability regardless of having him on the bench towards Osasuna and stabilised the ship properly with Eric Garcia within the division.
Pablo Torre has so much to supply
Profiting from his probability. (Picture by Eric Alonso/Getty Photos)
Hansi Flick’s resolution to take Frenkie de Jong off at halftime was not stunning, particularly with reviews that the participant had a gentle discomfort that he most well-liked to kill within the early levels.
What intrigued many was the German tactician’s resolution to offer Pablo Torre 45 minutes of motion in De Jong’s place and the teenager put up a present that may very well be season-defining for him.
Torre’s battle for minutes this season has had little to do together with his high quality. He has impressed and contributed in all of the couple of minutes entrusted to him however the cut-throat competitors noticed him positioned final on the supervisor’s pecking order.
Because the season nears its enterprise finish, particularly with Marc Casado becoming a member of Marc Bernal on the sidelines, Torre might properly have a much bigger position to play for the Catalans and final night time was a trailer of what he can deliver to the sector.
In 45 minutes final night time, the 21-year-old accomplished 88% of his 43 passes, didn’t hesitate to get entangled within the buildup and thrived in tight areas together with his ability. He even created Barcelona’s third purpose all by himself on the night time, setting Fermin Lopez free on the flank.
Torre’s profile, evidently, is usually a deadly weapon for Flick within the attacking midfield division. Given Dani Olmi’s health struggles, he and Fermin Lopez might have large roles to play because the season progresses and the squad depth is examined.
An efficient conversion
A string of leads to La Liga final month noticed Atletico Madrid and Actual Madrid lose steam within the title race and Barcelona regain floor on the standings.
The Catalans had an opportunity to go three factors clear with a win over Osasuna in direction of the start of the month, however the postponement of the sport noticed the fixture persist as a recreation in hand.
Theoretically, many nonetheless thought-about Barcelona to be three full factors away from Actual Madrid. Nonetheless, historical past is witness that no factors will be counted till the ultimate whistle has been blown and it was vital that Barcelona convert the theoretical benefit right into a real-life margin final night time.
Regardless of the difficulty that the Pamplona-based facet gave them earlier this season in La Liga, Barcelona seemed to be assured and in management all through the sport final night time.
Wojciech Szczesny went untested on the night time, the defensive position was not examined a lot barring a brief interval within the second half and the midfield ensured that Barcelona retained near 75% of the possession on the night time.
It’s clear that the staff is slowly going right into a mode the place video games are gained in auto-pilot and Flick couldn’t have hoped for a greater time for the cohesion to peak. Final night time’s easy and environment friendly conversion was one other instance of the identical.