The big news was the absence of Lamine Yamal. The coach brought on Fermín who began to play as a false winger. This time, Flick preferred him to occupy the right side rather than changing Raphinha’s position. And the team missed him greatly for several reasons. The first, because it is an extra in exit blocking situations. The second, because his driving inside sinks the rival in his field. The third, because his attraction helps his teammates have more space and, the fourth, because of his leadership on the pitch. Flick’s Barça is the best for many reasons, but the first of all is that it has the most decisive player.
Exit with or without rolling
La Real posed individual pressure with a 2-5-3 that made things difficult for Barça. A pressure that the Blaugrana overcame better in the initial stretch than after twenty minutes. And the explanation was not in the people of San Sebastian but in Barça. And the Blaugrana were forced to go long many times (26 in 45 minutes) but at first they did better. Because before moving the first line he rolled the ball to see if the free man appeared while, later, he chose to do it with the center backs or Iñaki Peña. And that is not a minor detail. And when you move your rival before moving, you put him out of square.
Hansi Flick’s touch-ups
The coach made four moves to try to turn the game around. At half-time, he replaced De Jong with Olmo, betting on a Casadó-Pedri-Olmo midfield. Later, he made a two-in-one change, introducing Ansu Fati on the left to switch Raphinha to the right. Afterwards, he placed Gavi in the middle and relocated Casadó as a full-back. And finally, he changed Pedri for Pau Víctor. That is to say, the tweaks were aimed at adding more goals. It didn’t help Barça to overwhelm the rival much, but it did help the coach show his tactical preferences in an emergency.
#team #Lamine #Yamal
