Flick makes his move with the hot potato of the locker room: the immediate aftermath of Guadalajara-Barça

Barça won the first round of the Cup (0-2). Ter Stegen's surprise return to the starting lineup. Here are the highlights of Barcelona's victory in Guadalajara.

Eric challenges modern football. Eric Garcia is the player who has featured most for Barça this season. His statistics are spectacular: he has participated in all 24 matches played so far. He has started in five of six Champions League matches and in 15 of 17 La Liga games. In the Copa del Rey, Flick could have rested him, but instead left Curbasí on the bench and played him at center-back, while Casadó started at full-back because Koundé, the player with the second-most minutes on the team, has had some knocks this season. Eric played the entire match (in three different positions) and defies the demands of playing time in modern football.

Get Christensen back. Eric being a starter is not news, but Christensen being one is. This newspaper has already published a report The various sources consulted—professionals who work or have worked with the Dane—did not hesitate to affirm that he has the skills and qualities to be "the best center-back on the team." The purpose of the report was to answer why such a good center-back as Christensen wasn't playing at all. The reason lies in a mental block, which makes him play with fear and unease, and this is why Flick hadn't trusted him more. His opportunity came with the Cup, and the Dane was Barça's best player.

Ter Stegen, in the shop window. The situation with Ter Stegen is unpleasant for everyone. Not for the player, a ousted captain who, since winning the battle to oust Bravo, has never been a substitute; nor for Flick, who has to deal with such a hot potato in the locker room; nor for Barça, who have turned one of the highest-paid players on the squad into a devalued asset, from which they will get no return, and with a contract signed until 2028. The best thing for everyone would be a departure, but it depends on Ter Stegen. Flick played him—"only today," he said—to put him in the spotlight and also to make the German feel the itch to play again. "He's the captain, he's been at the club for many years, and I gave him the opportunity to play," the coach explained.

Inventions that don't work. Visiting a lower-league opponent and playing on a lower-league pitch isn't the best test for drawing conclusions, but it can offer some clues. Barça only has one specialist in the number 9 position, Robert Lewandowski, and a backup, who started as a winger and has emerged as a striker with good performances, Ferran Torres. In Guadalajara, Flick rested both of them. And for a good while, they were missed. In the first half, Rashford again looked uncomfortable and performed much better on the left. Fermín's gamble of using a false nine after the restart also failed to materialize.