Hansi Film I knew it. The coach was fully aware that the important match for Barcelona was the Champions Leagueno matter how much the rival team’s poster suggested a very peaceful victory, as it ultimately was.
It is for this reason that the German reserved several of his best pieces last weekend at The Sadar. He wanted his stars to be prepared, calm and fully focused on the European match, even if everyone took victory for granted before even leaving the locker room.
The defeat in Monaco The first day, he had made Flick’s ears stand out. He paid dearly Pamplona, It’s true, with the first defeat in La Liga, but he preferred to take this risk to avoid a second unfavorable score in the Champions League which could have proved fatal. Barça rediscovered itself and made El Sadar’s puncture almost a simple anecdote.
Lewandowski celebrates his goal against Young Boys.
REUTERS
The importance of every victory
This new Champions League It remains, in a way, a mystery to everyone. 36 teams put in the same bag and forming a unique ranking make this phase of the competition a territory still to be explored, but from which it is clear that each match is going to be important.
Only the best eight advance directly to the round of 16, and a few punctures in this preliminary phase can scare off more than one big team. Barça, after which Monaco, He had already received the first warning, so he didn’t have much margin for error, especially since he still has important rivals to face like the Bayern Munich.
At such a busy time in the schedule, Flick moved the pieces as he pleased to get everything ready to beat the Young boys. Not only to win, but to sign a voluminous result against a rival who came with the label of victim to Montjuic.
The 5-0 does not only serve to give Barça the first three points in the standings of the new Champions League. This also means that the goal difference becomes remarkably favorable, and it is very likely that with this new competition format, this aspect will become definitive and could be worth a favored position within a few months.
scare the ghosts
It’s been too many years Barcelona Football Club far from being the best in the Champions League. A club which once became dominant in Europe not so long ago is now celebrating ten years since it won its last continental title, so this season has something symbolic. Even more so given all the changes that have been made to the club’s structure to remedy this situation.
Two consecutive years of falling in the previous group stage and a final campaign in which they couldn’t get past the quarter-finals did a lot of damage. It is for this reason that in Barcelona there is still a certain fear of experiencing a new European setback and what happened in Monaco has once again attracted the shadow of old ghosts.
Lamine Yamal tries to score a goal against Young Boys.
REUTERS
On the first day, Barça suffered a blow with a crushing defeat against a team several levels below on paper. He also did so, leaving a very bad image, and although it was a small warning, the levels of concern increased significantly.
For this reason, Flick allowed himself the luxury last weekend of parking La Liga in a certain way, where the Barca He continues to reign, to avoid any further surprises in the Champions League. Given the result, and with the defeat in Navarre as a price to pay, it seems that the management of the German coach was correct.
Barça returned to its usual cruising direction at the start of the season and took it to the Champions League. The next test, of course, will not be so simple because the next rival is the dreaded Bayern Munich.
