Barça is already a champion: Flick's La Liga film

BarcelonaBarça is now the league champion after beating Espanyol (0-2) yesterday. at the RCDE Stadium with goals from Lamine Yamal and Fermín López. Just two years after the last time Xavi Hernández was in charge, the Catalans have broken the predictions from the beginning of the season, which were not exactly the most optimistic due to the lack of reinforcements beyond Dani Olmo and Hansi Flick. It was believed that the sudden arrival of the German coach would be followed by a few years of transition and Real Madrid dominance thanks to the signing of Kylian Mbappé. But, despite the inexperience of a very young group, the Catalans have once again lifted a double seven years after the last one. If the 2017-18 season featured world stars already established in the football scene, such as Leo Messi and Luis Suárez, now Flick has boosted the competitive hunger of 14 players under 25 years of age, among whom the enormous potential of a teenager who answers to the name of Lamine Yamal Nasraoui Ebana.

The film about a League that has entertained the culés

In mid-August, Barça were winning, but not enchanting. At the start of the La Liga season, the Catalans secured three victories, all with the same narrow result (2-1). In the third, against Rayo Vallecano, they enjoyed a decisive debut goal from Dani Olmo, who had been temporarily registered hours earlier. thanks to Andreas Christensen's long-term injury. That night in Vallecas, Marc Bernal also suffered a season-ending injury. The 17-year-old, like Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsí, was already emerging as a defensive midfielder.

The 7-0 thrashing of Valladolid on Matchday 4 changed the team's course toward convincing results. Since the bleeding in Pucela's defense, Barça began to hone its offensive arsenal, in which Raphinha Dias and Robert Lewandowski, lethargic last year under Xavi, have performed strongly. Scoring three or more goals per game was a routine occurrence. Despite the sweet sensations, the first stumble would come in a match in Pamplona marked by rotations (4-2). Late September, Matchday 8. At that point, the team was already leading and gathering arguments to begin eating into the morale of Real Madrid, who at no point have found cruising speed or a new coach since the retirement of Toni Kroos.

Madrid, crushed by Flick's Barça

Indeed, the classics have explained the dominance of Flick's Barça in national competitions (Super Cup, Cup and League). The Blaugranas have equaled the record for most wins against Madrid in a single season (4 out of 4). The first was the most convincing. At the remodeled Santiago Bernabéu, the Blaugranas dismantled the Madrid siege based on offsides, one of the great contributions of the new coaching staff, and in In the second half they counterattacked very forcefully (0-4). Raphinha, Lewandowski and Lamine Yamal drove the meringuesAt that point, the team was leading the way, and everything seemed headed toward autumn. But then "shitty November" arrived, as Flick put it.

A fateful November

The first match of the month was against Espanyol at the Lluís Companys stadium, a 3-1 victory. After that, however, Flick's team began a disastrous run. They went six matches without a win and fell to third in the table, behind both Madrid teams. Before the Christmas break, they lost to Real Sociedad, Las Palmas, Leganés, and Atlético de Madrid in matches that were quite painful, especially the last one against Atlético Madrid, which was resolved with a goal from Sorloth in the final whistle (1-2).

It took Barça eight weeks to regain the lead. Until mid-February, when Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid began to feel the wear and tear of the Champions League. It was precisely at the Metropolitano where the Blaugrana eliminated Simeone's team from the fight with a comeback based on belief and their attacks in the opponent's half. They were 2-0 down in the 70th minute and ended up winning 2-4 thanks to Lamine Yamal, Lewandowski, and Ferran Torres, who became a very useful fourth striker. This spirit of overcoming was also repeated in Celta's visit to Montjuïc, in which the Galicians led 1-3 in the 64th minute and ended up losing 4-3 in extra time. The result was identical to that of Ancelotti's Madrid in the decisive Clásico a few days ago, which also started with a visiting victory (0-2).

The Flick effect, key to celebrating this League

With 95 goals scored and 26 wins, Barça leads the league and European leagues in offensive statistics. Flick's team is the most prolific team in the top five leagues, tied with Bayern Munich. However, they are the fourth-highest-scoring team in the league. The German has maintained his ideals of attacking play. The fans are delighted with the drive of a young and uninhibited team.

But the veterans also contributed. Raphinha, who will turn 29, has 28 goal contributions in La Liga. Compared to last season, he has tripled his figures. Lewandowski has also improved his numbers, only being surpassed by Mbappé in the final stretch of the race for the top scorer. At 36, he is the fourth-highest scorer in the top five leagues with 25 goals. In defense, Flick has also benefited from the leadership skills of Iñigo Martínez, who has made a piece of the season when it is about to blow out 34 candles.

The former German national team coach has extracted the best from the squad inherited by Xavi. He also brought in up to 12 players from La Masia, paying special attention to Marc Casadó, who performed at a high level, and the surprise addition of Gerard Martín as a substitute left-back. He's also restored the best versions of Frenkie de Jong and Pedri, who are undisputed in midfield. Barça's players have been revalued, the team is back in contention, and the Catalans are like a kid with new shoes.