Is Hansi Flick too daring?

BarcelonaHansi Flick likes vertigo, having a good time, and squeezing life to the fullest, despite the potential dangers that come with it. If he had to choose between sorrow and nothingness, he would choose sorrow, like William Faulkner. This way of facing the world from the bench of a football team entails being relentlessly daring. in the final minutes of a Champions League semi-final first leg match that you have tied as play the League in Valladolid with a series of players who, throughout the season, have proven not to inspire confidence or have simply not been available.

Barça came out in Valladolid with nine changes to the lineup compared to the Inter Milan match. Dani Rodríguez is a debutant; Christensen played his first start of the season after getting his first minutes of the season against Inter; Ter Stegen was returning from a serious injury that had kept him out for seven months; Pau Víctor started for the second time in La Liga this season, Ansu Fati for the third time, and Héctor Fort for the fifth. That is, six players, more than half of the starting eleven, were given their starting spot as an exceptional circumstance. Right now, these cannot be considered part of even the second line of the squad. The second line are Ronald Araujo, Fermín, and Gavi, the other three new additions to the lineup.

The two who returned from Inter were Gerard Martín and Pedri, the latter the only one slated to start. The result was one of the worst first halves for Flick's Barça, which ended with a 1-0 defeat to a team, Valladolid, already mathematically relegated and who had just earned one of their last 42 points. Given this situation, the German had to give more minutes than expected to players destined to be decisive on Tuesday against Inter in their search for a place in the Champions League final. The first to come on was Lamine Yamal in the 38th minute due to Dani Rodríguez's injury. Raphinha replaced Ansu Fati at halftime, when Frenkie de Jong also came on (in this case, to share the minutes with Pedri). With the score already 2-1, Dani Olmo replaced Pau Víctor for the final half-hour, and Eric Garcia replaced Gavi to seal the win late in the match.

Inter's rotations

But if Flick is considered daring, the same adjective should also be given to Simone Inzaghi, because Inter went out to play Hellas Verona, also with the Serie A title at stake (Napoli are three points ahead), with only one of the players who started at the Estadi Odi. Josep Martínez in goal; De Vrij and Carlos Augusto in defense; Darmian, Fratessi, Asllani, Zielinski and Zalewski in midfield and Arnautovic and Joaquín Correa up front completed the starting eleven. Inter had a somewhat quieter game than Barça because Asllani put the hosts ahead. Neroazzurri in the 9th minute with a penalty goal that would prove decisive, as no more would be scored. Of the starters against Barça, only Mkhitaryan and Dimarco came on as substitutes.

Curiously, Mikel Arteta was much less daring with Arsenal, despite the fact that they were already ruled out of the Premier League title race and had practically secured qualification for next season's Champions League. Against Bournemouth at the Emirates Stadium, no less than nine of the players who started the first leg of the European semi-final against PSG repeated, and Mikel Merino also got his minutes. But the wear and tear was of no use to the gunners, because they lost 2-1.

Luis Enrique is living a more relaxed life in Paris. He already has the Ligue 1 title under his belt with PSG and can afford to do and undo without worry throughout France. This Saturday he visited Strasbourg, where he lost 2-1 with a starting eleven that only had one player from the match against Arsenal: João Neves. In the second half, Fabián Ruiz and Doué came on from the European starters to try to salvage a point without success, and they suffered their second defeat of the season in the league. No dramas and almost everyone was well rested.