Header Ads

Home > FC Barcelona News > Three talking points from Barcelona 7-1 Valencia

Three talking points from Barcelona 7-1 Valencia

14:48
FBL-ESP-LIGA-BARCELONA-VALENCIA
Photo by MANAURE QUINTERO/AFP via Getty Images

A brilliant win from Hansi Flick’s men

Rampant Barca get ruthless

Barcelona have been guilty of letting leads slip and missing bucketloads of chances this season but that was certainly not the story on Sunday night.

Hansi Flick freshened up his team by bringing in Eric Garcia, Ferran Torres, Fermin Lopez and Frenkie de Jong and saw his side run riot over Valencia.

Barcelona were 1-0 up after just three minutes, had a 3-0 lead with just 14 minutes on the clock and went in at half-time five goals to the good and with the game in the bag. All of this with top scorer Robert Lewandowski watching on from the bench.

More goals followed in the second half as Barca smashed seven past Valencia and got back to winning ways in La Liga, after a run of one win eight games, with an absolute bang.

“I love this hunger the team has, that shows in the matches, especially today,” Flick told reporters afterwards. “It’s not finished with the 2-0 or the 3-0. They go to the end of the match. This is what I love and what we like to play. It’s good to see this.”

Barcelona are still seven points adrift of Real Madrid in the league standings but they certainly have the firepower needed to challenge for the title.

Is Szczesny now first choice?

One perhaps surprising aspect from the match was Flick’s decision to continue with Wojciech Szczęsny in goal despite an error-strewn performance against Benfica in midweek.

Flick was asked why before kick-off and said it was because ”we haven’t lost with him yet” which seemed a fairly curious answer.

Barca’s win means they still haven’t lost with Szczesny in the line-up but he did get away with one against Valencia. The Pole gave away a penalty in the first half but was granted a reprieve after a VAR check confirmed a foul on Jules Kounde before the incident.

It may have been a let off but Szczesny still doesn’t look a convincing option in goal for Barcelona although he does look set to continue.

Flick was asked about his goalkeepers again after the match and seemed to suggest Szczesny would be playing the next few games - is he now Barca’s first choice?

Competition for places heats up as Flick freshens things up

Whatever the situation in goal, it’s clear that competition for places at Barca is now heating up after the win over Valencia.

Flick said his team needed fresh legs against Los Che and was true to his word as he shook up his team and saw a host of players stake a claim for a starting spot.

Frenkie de Jong looked a lot more like the Frenkie de Jong of old and grabbed the opener, while Lopez was the star of the show and looked back to his best with two goals and two assists.

Ferran Torres was another player brought in who found the back of the net, while Eric was rewarded with a start after his goal against Benfica.

Flick made it clear after the game that Eric would be staying for the rest of the season, and possibly beyond, meaning he is very much in his plans for the next few months.

All of which can only be good news for Barcelona, with players competing for places in the starting XI likely to sharpen focus as we head towards the business end of the season.



Source: barcablaugranes.com

Post a Comment

No comments

Subscribe to: Post Comments ( Atom )
Powered by Blogger.