N QUICKLY LEAVE R EAL M ADRID
After 6 rounds, Barcelona won absolutely, leaving Real Madrid 4 points behind in the rankings (let me add: Real added Kylian Mbappe to the attack line that already had Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo, Federico Valverde).
Lamine Yamal (left) is helping Barcelona play well.
In history, Barcelona have only twice started a season with a winning streak longer than 6. Currently, Bayern Munich (Germany) are the only team left with an absolute winning streak in the major national championships (but the Bundesliga has only gone through 4 rounds). In the Premier League, everyone has lost points and in principle, the top team Manchester City can switch places with the number 6 team Newcastle after just 1 round.
The most obvious impression of Flick’s successful start at Barcelona is his complete trust in young players. In the opening match, Flick put three players under 18 in the starting lineup: Lamine Yamal, Cubarsi and Marc Bernal. This is only the second time in the 21st century that Barcelona has had three players under 18 in the starting lineup, the first time being a match at the end of a season, which is no longer very meaningful.
Flick's belief in youth is not simply about putting them on the field. Everyone has known Yamal since last season, as well as at EURO 2024. But now, Yamal in Flick's hands has truly risen to a higher level. He dares to let the "boy" play football freely. The result: from being a young star "in need of protection", Yamal has now become the leader "protecting Barcelona", scoring many times or making decisive passes that turn the situation around, saving the team from a deadlock. In 7 official matches, Yamal has directly participated in scoring 9 times (scoring 4, assisting 5). Comparisons between Yamal and Lionel Messi will arise soon.
PLAY STARTS FROM… ATTACK
When talking about Barcelona, we have to talk about the typical Tiki-taka style of play, although of course there have been specific changes over many periods. Flick still respects La Masia and boldly uses players trained by this famous youth academy, as mentioned. But he pushes them into a different style of play, more contrasting than similar to Barcelona's traditional style of play. The phrase Flicki-Flacka is being used by the press these days, expressing the unique mark of coach Flick.
Barcelona usually play the ball slowly from the back, with short, consistent passes and patience. Flick’s Barcelona starts from the front: actively competing when the opposition has possession near their goal. At times, statistics on the average position of the players over 60 minutes show that: Barcelona only has 3 players (including the goalkeeper) standing at home.
In the first 6 games, Barcelona have won the ball back 52 times within 40 meters of the opponent's goal, had 10 shots in those situations and scored 2 goals. Last season, Barcelona only scored 5 goals from similar situations. Yamal is the star attacker, but he is the player who has "tackled" the ball in the third of the field closest to the opponent's goal the most in La Liga this season. Striker Raphinha is the player leading the way in terms of ball recoveries. The excellent pressing ability of Raphinha and Lamal is something that no one has mentioned before. After all, they have never had to do it!
There are many other significant differences. Pedri (only 21, already one of the backup captains and a regular starter) or veteran Robert Lewandowski have both brought significant changes to their playing style. But in short, Hansi Flick is having a surprisingly perfect start, and the current Barcelona is both good and very different from the Barcelona people were so familiar with in previous years.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ky-nguyen-flicki-flacka-da-bat-dau-185240925223258011.htm
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