Use common sense, Raphinha, please: the hot takes from the Barça-Aston Villa match

BarcelonaBarça overcame the absences in defense and beat Aston Villa in a very serious match in the Champions League.

Be sensible, Raphinha. For the "non-negotiable idea" of Hansi Flick's Barça to work, players like Raphinha are needed. The coach has not only chosen him as a general captain, but he needs him on the pitch: both to be the first to launch the pressure -a choral mechanism indispensable for the style of play proposed by the German-, and for his goals. Another brace from the Brazilian, the second goal after a beautiful assist from Cancelo. That makes 19 goals this season, four in the Champions League, and we are not even halfway through the season. Next week you will leave with Brazil, Raphinha, to play two friendly matches on the other side of the world, please, be sensible and don't get injured.

Gerard Maldini. Perhaps because of the name and not having world-famous stars, Aston Villa was not as intimidating, but it is a team very well prepared by Unai Emery. Jackson, for example, came off scoring three goals in the last two matches, two of them against City. It was not an easy night for the defense, so questioned during the week of PSG and Madrid, and it responded with flying colors. Special mention to Brian Fariñas and, above all, to Gerard Maldini. Surely he will never grace many front pages, but that boy who not long ago played as a fullback at Cornellà, is growing day by day, taking giant steps as a center-back.

The importance of Joan. We must also talk about him. Very attentive in his exits -causing some scares on his worst day-, he was impeccable at cutting off rival runs. This is crucial in a team that plays with such a high defensive line. It was noticeable that Barça had worked on it. In 20 minutes, he had already stopped three excursions by the fast Jackson that could have been decisive. And when it was time to use his hands, Joan excelled again, like in a good save against Manzabi just at the half-hour mark. With his feet, with his hands, and with his head.

A dark day for playing football. The football machinery did not stop, despite the fact that AFE, the majority union of Spanish footballers, had requested to stop all football matches in the state during this week. But business is business -and schedules packed to the limit-. It was a dark day for playing. Professional footballers woke up to the news that a colleague had died after a rival's tackle. The death of Jesús de Miguel impacted football in a tragic way. How was it supposed to be, waking up and seeing that a colleague has died, and in the evening, going out to warm up and play?