Barcelona secured a resounding 4-1 win against Girona on Sunday with an inspired performance after the international break with a performance that leaves Hansi Flick with endless positives.
A Lamine Yamal brace along with goals from Pedri and Dani Olmo gave the visitors their four goals on the day while Girona’s only saving grace arrived from the feet of Cristhian Stuani in the final minutes of the game.
While a clean sheet would have projected a more accurate picture of the game, the 4-1 result keeps up the image of Barcelona’s dominance this season and takes them to a perfect tally of 15 points after five games.
Barça Universal brings you three things Hansi Flick can take away from last night’s clash.
Revenge exacted in full
One of the biggest talking points ahead of Sunday’s clash between Girona and Barcelona was how Michel’s side swept the La Liga giants off their feet last season across both games.
The dark horses of the league dished out two clinical performances to down Barcelona by a 4-2 margin in both the teams’ meetings last season, thus delivering a crushing blow to the team’s chances in La Liga.
On Sunday, however, they were given a thrashing at Estadi Montilivi by Hansi Flick’s side and at no point looked even half as dominant as they did last season.
The Blaugrana dominated the game from start to finish, opening up Girona’s defence with ease and creating chance after chance. Their clinical finishing, moreover, made it impossible for the hosts to keep up.
Girona did, to their credit, create some big chances towards the end of the first half and the dying minutes of the game. Barring that, they were a shadow of their last year’s selves and were kept at bay by the ruthless Barcelona buildups.
A monstrous Lamine Yamal display
The opening 45 minutes that Barcelona played against Girona may well be the most imposing half of football they have played in quite a while. With barely a foot placed wrong, they gave the hosts almost no chance.
For all the team’s dominance, however, one young star took home the limelight – Lamine Yamal.
The 17-year-old, who has become a household name at this point, was at his free-flowing best once more against the Catalan opposition and single-handedly gave Barcelona a 2-0 lead through two moments of magic.
Yamal’s first goal was created, initiated and executed completely by the Ballon d’Or nominee as he stole the ball from David Lopez and delivered a stunning solo finish against the goalkeeper to open the scoring.
Minutes later, he struck the ball which ricocheted out of the box after a corner kick with full force, sending it beyond the reach of Paulo Gazzaniga and into the back of the net.
With his two goals, Yamal now has three goals and four assists in just five appearances for Barcelona and appears to be on course for a special campaign.
Barcelona are on song
Having won four out of four games ahead of the international hiatus, many questioned if Barcelona’s start to the new season was attributed to a lucky run of form or genuine world-class quality.
Taking to the field two weeks after their last game, Barcelona proved that they do indeed have a special aura to them this season and they picked up exactly where they left off.
The Catalans’ front four, which has been on song from day one, once again broke loose and wreaked havoc in the Girona area picking passes and breaking defensive lines without breaking a sweat.
Despite Olmo’s relatively off day which included a goal anyway, Raphinha, Pedri and Yamal stunned in transitions and worked passes through the lines. Meanwhile, the full-backs Jules Kounde and Alejandro Balde added directness to the team’s play.
The position of worry, the defensive midfield, was also sorted out with Marc Casado putting in a phenomenal shift and at no point looking like a player making his breakthrough in the first division.
At this point, everything appears to be going to plan for Flick’s Barcelona and the management will hope that the spark stays with the team throughout the season. Girona is just the beginning of their marathon but the takeaways could not have been better.
