Barcelona continued their good begin to the Hansi Flick period in opposition to Rayo Vallecano, making it three out of three wings in La Liga. It wasn’t all plain crusing for the group although who struggled within the first half after going behind within the recreation.
Flick modified issues at half-time by bringing on Dani Olmo for Ferran Torres. Buoyed by the debutant’s spectacular efficiency, the group took their recreation up a notch and managed to make a comeback due to targets from Pedri and Olmo himself.
Rayo had probabilities to equalize late on with Barcelona taking part in with 10 males following Marc Bernal’s unlucky harm. Nonetheless, the protection held robust with Pau Cubarsi and Inigo Martinez clearing each ball that got here their method to safe Flick his third win.
There have been many speaking factors this week and we at BNN carry to you the three main ones from the 2-1 win in opposition to Rayo.
1. What time is it? It’s Dani Olmo time!
It’s been a while coming however the wait is price it. After lacking out on Barcelona’s first two video games resulting from registration points, Olmo was on the bench for the sport in opposition to Rayo and needed to watch the group meander via the primary half.
Flick opted to alter issues up, bringing the 26-year-old for his debut instantly after half-time and giving him his favored #10 position. To say that Olmo modified the complexion of the sport can be an understatement.
From his very first contact as a Barcelona participant, Olmo oozed class. Each transfer he made with the ball was crammed with objective. He was unfortunate to not win a penalty together with his first involvement minutes into the second half. He additionally had an effort from vary that skimmed the highest of the bar.
In the end, Olmo received what he deserved when Lamine Yamal discovered him in area contained in the field. The ex-RB Leipzig man took a contact onto his left foot and unleashed an excellent end that might have made Lionel Messi proud.
Olmo even pulled out the ‘Dame Time’ celebration alongside the assist-provider Lamine Yamal. We coated a narrative explaining the explanation behind such a celebration after what was a memorable second for the followers. Hopefully the primary of many.
2. Soto Grado disasterclass
When it was introduced that Cesar Soto Grado would referee the sport in opposition to Rayo, a number of the Barcelona followers had been already fearing the worst. It’s honest to say that the 44-year-old lived as much as his popularity.
Listed below are Soto Grado’s highlights from the sport. He failed to present a penalty after a reckless problem on Olmo contained in the penalty field minutes into the second half. VAR didn’t intervene in what was a joke of a choice.
He didn’t reprimand a Rayo participant who actually used his hand to defend the ball contained in the Barcelona penalty field. He dominated out Robert Lewandowski’s aim for some of the innocuous fouls by Jules Kounde (at the least that is debatable).
He didn’t red-card a Rayo participant who went together with his studs into Pedri’s shin in what can solely be described as an outrageous problem. The 21-year-old was lucky to flee with out an harm and was rapidly taken off by Flick.
The icing on the cake nevertheless needed to be his reluctance to blow the full-time whistle even after the 10-added minutes on the finish of the 90 elapsed. It virtually felt just like the referee wouldn’t blow the whistle till Rayo scored. Absolute shambles. Effectively tried, Mr. Cesar Soto Grado!
3. A devastating harm
It’s not typically {that a} hard-fought win appears like a loss however that’s precisely how Barcelona’s 2-1 win over Rayo felt. After the sport, Marc Bernal’s horror harm was all anybody might consider and Barcelona’s worst fears have been confirmed.
Medical assessments as we speak have revealed that the 17-year-old prodigy had torn the ACL on his left knee. Not simply that, he has additionally broken the meniscus on the knee, very similar to Gavi which successfully signifies that his complete season is over.
Marc Bernal had an unbelievable recreation in opposition to Rayo and it’s a disgrace that his season needed to finish this fashion. The teenage La Masia prodigy was simply getting began within the senior group and Barcelona have now been dealt a crushing blow.
Bernal regarded like the subsequent Golden Boy within the making. He’s nonetheless younger and can absolutely recuperate and return stronger from this setback. Nonetheless, Hansi Flick has been handed a direct blow and must discover a alternative.
Barcelona shouldn’t have a pure positional pivot alternative within the squad and Flick will now be compelled to innovate. It stays to be seen how he makes up for the lack of {the teenager}. One can solely hope Bernal makes a powerful restoration and returns higher than ever.