Turning Pedri's injury into an opportunity: the immediate takeaways from Elche-Barça

BarcelonaA hard-fought 3-1 victory for Barça away at Elche keeps them top of La Liga for another week, regardless of Real Madrid's result. Here are some immediate observations.

'One of the boys'. For Barça, the match was a walk in the park. Without Lewandowski in the starting eleven, the pressure was even more incisive, and Elche, who suffered from the crucial absence of Febas in midfield, had a lot of trouble overcoming it. The home side made numerous mistakes in their build-up play and were easily disorganized in defense, to the point that they conceded 17 chances in just one half. With Flick's steamroller running rampant, Sarabia's daring approach at times seemed like a caricature. In the second half, things evened out somewhat. That's why Lamine Yamal's opening goal in the 6th minute was so important, given what might happen. The young star capitalized on a misjudgment by Iñaki Peña, who did a favor for what is still his parent club.

Oh, when he prioritizes winning over pleasing himself. But Lamine Yamal's performance went far beyond the first goal. For weeks now, the man from Rocafonda has been approaching the form that left the world speechless. Just this week, he was the clear architect of two victories (against Copenhagen and Elche) that the team had to work harder for than expected. At the Martínez Valero stadium, he had a field day tormenting poor John Donald, whom Sarabia kept on the pitch despite him being suspended due to an early yellow card. His repertoire of tricks also came into play when he set up the decisive goal, which Rashford simply had to tap into the Elche net. When Lamine Yamal is less focused on pleasing himself, he'll be an even better player. Let's get down to business.

Opportunities seized. Lamine Yamal finished the match with his nose wrinkled from a blow to the groin. Raphinha only played half the game due to discomfort. And Kounde couldn't complete the full 90 minutes either. The players are feeling the strain of the schedule. Pedri, who watched the match from home, is no exception. Without the Canary Islander, Barça has less control overall, but his absence is also an opportunity to discover, for example, that De Jong can do more than just dribble the ball and frustrate his teammates. hatersThe Dutchman orchestrated the 1-2 goal by Ferran Torres brilliantly. And a mention must also be made of Bernal's contribution, who changed the complexion of Wednesday's match against Copenhagen and on Saturday demonstrated why Míchel wanted to take him on loan to Girona. The man from Berguedà is pure caviar.

Flick really does pee with his own. We were told that Cancelo arrived at Barça to provide squad depth in a difficult context due to Christensen's long-term injury and Araujo's confidence issues. It was also argued that, despite Flick's request for a center-back in the winter transfer window, the Portuguese full-back, eager to secure a place in the World Cup squad, would allow Koundé to play more often at center-back, a position he hasn't held since his first season with Barça. Several matches have passed, and a quick look at the lineups confirms that these arguments weren't Flick's, but rather those of the people who make the sporting decisions, among whom the German has relatively little influence. Koundé always plays at full-back. And if he asks to be substituted, Cancelo isn't the first choice to replace him. As Guardiola would say, Hansi does his own thing. May he continue to do so.