Hansi Flick is a happy man. The Barcelona coach is unbeaten after three preseason games and won his first El Clásico on Saturday with a 2-1 win over Real Madrid in New Jersey that gave fans even more positive signs of the impact he’s already having on his team less than a month into his tenure.
Barça’s performances against Manchester City and Real Madrid were very encouraging, with a clear idea of how to play in and out of possession and a relentless pursuit of the ball from start to finish. Flick’s side is also featuring several promising youngsters who are showing their abilty on a global stage, with one in particular grabbing all the headlines.
Striker Pau Víctor was the star of the show on Saturday, scoring both goals to add to his strike against City and once again displaying all of his many tools: his intelligence to read the game, his movement between the lines, his scoring ability and his versatility to play in different positions and still be highly effective.
Flick has also noticed Víctor’s impact, and praised the youngster’s performance in a very German way after the game while also making it clear the 22-year-old has a real pathway into the first team this season.
“Three goals in two games [for Pau Víctor]? Not bad! He knows how to score and that’s good for a forward. We’ll see what happens, but the door to the first team is always open.”
Flick also gave an overall assessment of Barça’s performance on Saturday, highlighting the team’s defensive organization, their work with the ball and the quality of the youngsters. But he also signaled a clear area for improvement: defending too deep.
“I knew it was El Clásico and it’s a big deal to play against Madrid. But once again, when we defend too deep, it’s a problem, but when we did press we did well. The goal is to do it all over the pitch.
“The team has improved [from the game against Man City]. Beyond the good defensive work and despite the issue of defending too deep at times, it’s beautiful to see what we do when we have the ball.
“It’s fantastic to have footballers who are this good at 16, 17, 18 years old… It was a great opportunity for them to show what they can do.”
Source: Mundo Deportivo
Barça have one more friendly against AC Milan in the United States on Tuesday and the Joan Gamper Trophy against AS Monaco next Monday to finish their preseason preparations, and it looks as though Hansi Flick is happy with his team’s progress as we approach the beginning of the real season.
Hasibur Rahaman is a passionate sports journalist. He covers everything from cricket to field hockey, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis of sporting events, both within India and on the international stage.
