Apotheosis of Flick’s Barça against Bayern

Barça hit the table in the Champions League. The team led by Hansi Flick beat Bayern Munich 4-1 at the Lluis Companys in a match that confirmed the good feelings shown since the start of the season. The goals from Raphinha, in triple play, and from Lewandowski banish old ghosts against the German team and send a message to Real Madrid just three days before the classic. Barça is back.

And even before the duel began, it was already clear that “football is a state of mind” is not an empty phrase. The Champions League music, which other times dwarfed the Catalans, sounded different this time. The fans also sang the anthem in a different way and even Barça came out to play like never before. Europe this time was not going to alter the script of a grown team that does not look at the size of the rival. The culés had a plan and they were going to die with it, something that right now has more pros than cons.

The points in favor were seen in a dizzying start that took Bayern ahead. Barça pressed in the opposite field as if it were a pack of wolves and found a reward after a ball behind the center backs that Raphinha caught to dribble past Neuer and open the scoring while the stands were still assimilating the lineup arranged by Flick. And the German made few changes. It made no sense to alter what works and they opted for the same block that beat Sevilla with the exception of the entry of Fermín López, located in the midfield behind Lewandowski.

The weak points appeared immediately afterwards, when the pressure stopped having its reward. Vincent Kompany’s Bayern is a team with plenty of resources to find variants in the game. The Germans know how to come out with the ball played and find players like Kane to offload balls and wingers like Olise or Gnabry to create imbalances. This is how they calmed the atmosphere at Lluis Companys and thus modified the match. Kane warned with a goal disallowed for offside and again the Englishman appeared to finish off a measured cross from Gnabry and punish a Barça slowed down by the good work of their rival.

It was Barça’s worst moment in a first half written for the hope of the culés. Flick’s team not only overcame the setback, but also did so faithfully to the plan outlined by their coach. Each divided ball was a battle and each dispute began to fall on the Barça side, with a block enraged at the possibility of sinking its teeth into an entire Bayern. It was then that Fermín’s mischief appeared, as he slightly unbalanced Kim Min-jae in a jump and stood in front of Neuer to give Lewandowski the goal. The Pole’s goal left a Bayern side groggy, who no longer recovered and went into the break with a new blow after Raphinha turned an isolated ball into a work of art culminated with his right hand to the long post.

The sentence

After the restart, Barça had doubts. Going up carried its risks, but taking a step back also faced a Bayern team that monopolized the ball. The response of the culés was hybrid. Flick’s team was biting, but a few meters further back and waiting for the opportunity to launch counterattacks with the speed of their points. The plan couldn’t have gone better. Pedri escaped the pressure of the Germans, found Lamine Yamal and the young winger took a long delivery out of his hat that Raphinha, the best of the night, converted into the fourth after running the ball down and shooting cross , unappealable once again for Neuer.

With the game already on track, it was time to enjoy. Lluis Companys rubbed his eyes and chanted his team’s passes against a rival who has been the protagonist of several culé nightmares in recent years. No trace of the almighty Bayern. Flick took the opportunity to give minutes to Frenkie de Jong and Dani Olmo, two players who continue to gain pace for what is to come, and he had his best day since becoming Barça coach. It was the moment of confirmation just three days before the classic against Real Madrid.