FC Barcelona might have beaten Rayo Vallecano 2-1 last night with an impressive second-half performance but the sensations surrounding the club today might make one think that they suffered a loss.
The injury to Marc Bernal has completely dissipated the happiness that surrounds a win. The 17-year-old La Masia graduate has suffered a torn ACL and looks set to miss the rest of the season with the serious injury.
The young pivot has been enjoying a great run in the first team for the club under Hansi Flick. He was one of Barcelona’s best performers against Rayo and the injury that he suffered in the dying minutes was unfortunate, to say the least.
The problem for Barcelona is the lack of a natural positional #6 in the squad to replace Bernal. Hansi Flick will now be forced to innovate and come up with creative solutions to make up for the loss of the 17-year-old.
As per Victor Navarro, Barca Athletic captain Unai Hernandez is training with the first team today. The 19-year-old is predominantly a central midfielder who can also play on the left wing and as per a recent report from SPORT, he could be an option to reinforce the midfield in the aftermath of Bernal’s injury.
Unai Hernandez is not a pivot by any stretch of the imagination but rather an interior midfield. However, Flick could choose to use him in a double pivot alongside someone like Marc Casado who can cover the ground.
Despite training with the first team, it’s highly unlikely that the 19-year-old will get a run in the first team any time soon. He doesn’t necessarily make up for the absence of Bernal and the club needs to look elsewhere.
One other option that Barcelona have to replace Bernal is the 18-year-old Pau Prim. The youngster is a positional pivot in the same mold. He might not be ready for the step up and it remains to be seen if Hansi Flick calls him up in the coming days.
