The rivals do not even tickle a giant Barça

BarcelonaWho can stop this Barça? It is a giant that rolls over rivals who shrink as the game progresses. Hansi Flick has a plan to win everything and puts it into practice methodically. His team defeats opponents with a ease that can often be deceiving, because it seems too easy. Usually, when you have to face José Bordalás's Getafe, you find yourself condemned to an unpleasant combat with an opponent that sticks to you like a tick. And many times, after an international break, you drop points in trap games like this one. Things of the past. Flick's Barça seems to have solutions for any obstacle and with a new 3-0 thrashing, it equaled the record for the best start in the club's history in La Liga, with eight wins in eight games. A record that dated back to the era of Tata Martino.

In the return of football to the Camp Nou, after this eternal break longer than a day without bread, three more points in the bag for a team where Gordon and Gabriel Jesus returned confidence to Flick with two goals in the first half. Kounde would add a third goal, proving he wants to fight to be a starter always. Everything seems to be going well for this team.

It was the first act of this October in which so many things can be decided. The October of the first Clásico, with a Real Madrid that will arrive with water up to its neck, the way things are going at the Santiago Bernabéu. And between the fact that next week it's time to fly to Turkey and that many players have returned tired from the national teams, Flick chose to revolutionize the team. In a Camp Nou where tribute was paid to Pedro, now that he has retired, a team came out that will hardly play important matches. Raphinha's absence opened the door to the starting lineup for a Gordon who had been playing like an angel with England. And who took charge of opening the scoring early on with one of those goals that might not seem important, but they are. And very much so, in fact. Against Getafe, you have to score as soon as possible, since Bordalás' disciples can drive you crazy if the minutes go by and you haven't scored a goal against them. But on this occasion, Gordon moved intelligently around the edge of the box, without letting himself be intimidated by the Madrid side's five-man defensive line, and connected a shot that touched a rival before kissing the net. In two minutes, the hardest part was already done. Everything is going his way, for this Barça.

Flick had recovered Joan Garcia in goal. But the goalkeeper from Bages had little work to do. In attack, Lamine Yamal was indeed playing, as he is in a league of his own, the genius from Rocafonda. He always wants to play, to the delight of the thousands of fans who make the pilgrimage to the stadium wearing his jersey. He didn't do anything out of this world, although he always hands out some gifts in the form of plays that most footballers will never be able to perform. To complete the trident, the Brazilian Gabriel Jesus went up and down, always closely watched by two rival defenders. Being a forward and playing against Getafe is as complicated as running a marathon in shoes instead of sneakers. You feel uncomfortable, always watched. But the Brazilian is as clever as a fox and knew how to take advantage of a play in which the Madrid side dallied with the ball inside their area to press and score a goal that was also worth its weight in gold. If you have to score against Getafe quickly, it is also a good idea to have a cushion of goals, just in case they score against you in an isolated action.

But this Barça didn't give Getafe a single chance. Not a single dangerous shot between the three posts, nothing at all. Not even the crumbs. To start this uphill October, a solid triumph with a bunch of players who are usually substitutes, like Kounde, reliable on the flank, or a center-back pairing formed by Eric and Gerard Martin. Xavi Espart was celebrating his renewal on the sidelines, with Rodri in command surrounded by Gavi and Olmo. A Barça with so many homegrown players that, at times, the match felt more like one of Oques Grasses' concerts, as a bunch of young Catalans were having a blast in a stadium.

Barça looked so solid that the match even ended up being a bit dull, because there was no excitement. Flick's team inspires so much respect that Getafe, normally a troublesome opponent, already considered it valid to just defend to avoid being thrashed. A performance so serious that the match stopped having excitement right away. Only questions remained waiting for answers, like knowing how many goals this Barça, which never has enough, would score. Or who would be in charge of scoring the third. It would be Jules Kounde, who ended up signing a very solvent performance just the week he had admitted, in a press conference with the national team, that he agreed with Flick's decision to give him fewer minutes in recent months. The French full-back knew how to read the situation, was sincere, and responded in the best way.

When Kounde scored the third, Pedri, Fermín, Bernal, and an Adeyemi who is always up for a good time were already roaming the pitch. Luxury secondary players in a new triumph for a Barça that doesn't stop growing. Right now it is a giant that has turned thrashings into a routine. The day La Liga returned, the message was key: let the enemy tremble.