FC Barcelona have completed their pre-season tour in the US and are now set to return to Spain. They managed to secure wins against Manchester City and Real Madrid while losing to AC Milan on penalties.
Regardless of the result against the Italian giants, the tour was full of positives for Hansi Flick. It also gave fans their first taste of what to expect from Barcelona under the German coach and the excitement is palpable.
There were many standout performers across the three games in the US but if we had to pick out three names to mention, it would be Pau Victor, Marc Casado, and Marc Bernal. The former scored three goals and provided an assist in three games whilst the two Marcs impressed in midfield.
The La Masia duo started against both City and Madrid but Flick chose to bring in Andreas Christensen for Marc Bernal in the game against Milan. However, the German coach reunited the duo for the second half and it was not coincidental that Barcelona started playing better football.
Speaking after the game against AC Milan, the German tactician was quizzed about whether he needed a new midfielder at the club. Here is what he had to say as quoted by SPORT:
“We have several injured midfielders with great quality. When they return we will be a better team and I think I have enough players there.”
The Blaugranas have a host of players in the squad who can play in midfield. Ilkay Gundogan, Frenkie de Jong, Andreas Christensen, Marc Bernal, Marc Casado, Pedri, Gavi, Fermin Lopez, and Pablo Torre are all competing for the three roles in midfield. The Catalan club is also closing in on signing Dani Olmo, who can play as the #10.
The performances of Bernal and Casado have indicated to Hansi Flick that he doesn’t need any new additions to midfield. The club is still not over its financial predicaments completely and why invest in bringing in a player when we have in-house solutions?
It’s good to see that Flick is a coach who is willing to place immense faith in La Masia and not necessarily look for signings. Barcelona fans would love this trait that the German is showcasing. Let’s hope Casado and Bernal repay his faith in them and nail down their roles in the first team in the upcoming months.
