Hansi Flick has Barcelona dreaming
Hansi Flick simply can’t put a foot wrong as Barcelona boss. The German was at it again on Saturday night, overseeing an incredible 4-0 win at the Santiago Bernabeu to round off a magical week.
The German once again named a young side, starting six players under the age of 22 years for the first time in 108 years of Clasico history. The kids did alright too. Pau Cubarsi continues to astound, Marc Casado put in another unreal performance and Lamine Yamal made more history with his goal.
Flick also made a key change at half-time. After a tricky first half, off went Fermin Lopez and on came Frenkie de Jong. The impact was felt straightaway as Barca began to dominate. The goals then started to flow with Flick kicking (and heading) every ball on the touchline.
Barcelona now sit six points clear of their fiercest rivals, while Flick has given fans a week that will live long in the memory. The Catalans have smashed Sevilla, Bayern and Madrid in the space of a week – scoring 13 goals in those three matches and conceding just twice.
Offside FC strikes again
A key theme of the match was, once again, the sight of Barcelona’s crazily high backline catching Madrid offside. And again, and again, and again. By half-time there had been eight offsides, with Kylian Mbappe a serial offender.
Flick’s tactic came as absolutely no surprise to anyone who has watched Barcelona this season but worked time and time again.
The German spoke about his tactics after the game and explained why he doesn’t think it’s “risky” to play such a high line.
“We started very well. In the first half, we did well. The defence was high up. It seems dangerous and risky, but it isn’t. It worked. In the end, we made the right changes at half-time,” he told reporters.
“The players did very well. The players showed their quality in front of goal. Everyone knew what to do, in defence and in attack. I always say that we like to improve. Today wasn’t easy, but we defended well. We believe in our idea. But we have to keep going.”
Lewandowski shows up Mbappe
Robert Lewandowski was on target again in El Clasico to continue his brilliant form this season. The striker added two more goals to his tally, although he probably should have ended the match with four.
Barcelona’s striker now has 14 goals in 11 appearances this season to lead the Pichichi standings. He is far clear of Kylian Mbappe – who was supposed to take La Liga by storm – but in contrast has managed just six league goals since arriving in Spain.
Mbappe did get the ball in the back of the net, and celebrated extravagantly, only to see it correctly adjudged for offside. The Frenchman then found himself regularly caught in Barca’s offside trip, or foiled by Inaki Pena on an underwhelming night.
Yamal already into Clasico record books
There was plenty of talk about Lamine Yamal ahead of El Clasico and, initially at least, the teenager struggled to make much of an impact.
Yet this is a player who has already shown he can rise to the biggest of occasions and did so again at the Bernabeu to score Barcelona’s third goal.
Yamal smashed home a simply brilliant finish to finish off Madrid and become the youngest ever scorer in El Clasico.
It was the goal that finally finished off Los Blancos and is the first, surely, of many for Yamal in this famous fixture.
Pena passes his biggest test
Inaki Pena came into Saturday’s match with plenty of question marks still hanging over him ahead of a test against the likes of Vinicius Jr and Kylian Mbappe.
The arrival of Szczesny has fuelled the suspicion that Barca are simply waiting for one mistake from Pena to replace the youngster but it simply didn’t happen at the Bernabeu.
Pena once again looked nervy in the opening stages but pulled off an incredible stop in the first half that seem to fill him full of confidence and courage.
The goalkeeper then went on to produce what is surely the best performance of his career to date to deny Mbappe on several occasions and come away with a clean sheet.
We all know that Szczesny is still waiting in the wings, but Flick has placed his trust in Pena so far and was rewarded with a brilliant Clasico performance.
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