Hansi Flick’s Barcelona suffered their first defeat in pre-season against AC Milan in Baltimore. The game ended 2-2 in normal time with a young Barcelona losing on penalties to the Italian giants, bringing an end to a fascinating game.
The Spanish side were second best for much of the first half with Flick going in with a changed XI against Milan. Andreas Christensen replaced Marc Bernal in the base of midfield. Alex Valle was the only defender to retain his spot in defense from the team that started against Real Madrid.
Milan got off to a flying start with goals from Luka Jovic and Christian Pulisic. However, Barcelona grew into the game with Raphinha being heavily involved in the scheme of things. He had a few chances to score himself but got the assist to Robert Lewandowski’s well-taken first goal.
Things changed in the second half for Barcelona and it all had to do with one major change. As per SPORT, Flick took off Christensen to bring Bernal back into the XI and paired him with Casado. The 17-year-old changed the game in the Spanish club’s favor.
As per stats from Sofascore, in the 45 minutes he spent on the pitch, Bernal completed 91% of his passes, won two out of his three ground duels, his only aerial duel, and even converted his penalty in the shootout.
The numbers don’t lie and it’s no coincidence that Barcelona started playing better football with Bernal on the pitch. As good as Christensen has been when given a chance as a pivot, he doesn’t share the same chemistry with Casado nor does he have the technical ability that personifies Bernal.
If this pre-season has taught Flick anything, it is that Casado and Bernal work very well as a pairing. The latter is more positional and is tasked with dropping between the centre-backs while Casado ventures forward and uses his tireless lungs to get up and down the pitch.
However, it is not like the two are rigid in their positions. On the rare occasion when Bernal ventures forward, Casado uses his experience of playing as a positional six in youth teams to cover for his younger teammate.
La Masia has seemingly done it again and Marc Bernal looks set to be the star of this season for Barcelona. He gives the team a sense of calmness in midfield and expects Flick to give him a prominent role in the upcoming season.
