The expectations for this Barcelona team, as the calendar turns to November, are much higher than they were back in August.
That’s why the win against Espanyol should be greeted with constructive criticism. I have no doubt Hansi Flick will make his feelings known.
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The first half was a manifestation of Flick’s vision. High intensity counter pressing, after direct and relentless attacks forward, resulting in three first-half goals. On the defensive end a dangerous, but effective, high line that Espanyol couldn’t beat despite their best efforts.
That’s the formula. The Barca players know it, and they continue to refine it game after game, getting more and more dominant as the season goes along. In fact, they were so good at moments in the first half that it was turning into a joga bonito session.
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That’s why the second half was so unacceptable.
The starting XI came out, and noticeably, but marginally, the energy dropped.
You could see what Flick wanted. Ten minutes to finish off Espanyol, and then turn to the subs to give them the chance to show they were up to the task as well.
When Frenkie de Jong and Fermin Lopez came in, things went south right away. The defensive line, once again, did their job forcing another tight offsides call. But you could see it was just a matter of time before Espanyol broke through.
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Before they checked into the game, the cameras did a cut away to Frenkie on the bench. He looked totally checked out, almost upset to be on the bench.
I could be reading into the situation, but body language doesn’t lie. And right when he entered, whether it’s cause or correlation, everything that Flick has been drilling into the team went away.
Now, my big take away for Frenkie is to look at Marc Casado, who hasn’t stopped fighting in every minute given to him since the day Marc Bernal went down. Even Pedri when he plays in the double pivot does the same, and this is not a quality typical of his character.
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This is the program, get with it, or see if you make it with Barcelona past January.
Barcelona could have easily tied, or lost this game, if the offside trap wasn’t so good once again. But playing in a high line doesn’t mean you put all the pressure on Pau Cubarsí and Iñigo Martínez. To the contrary, it means that the intensity starts with hard work from the forward and midfield line, to suffocate the opponent from being able to play balls forward at all.
The center backs should not have to spend the game constantly sprint back.
I wish I could enjoy the victory more. Dani Olmo, Lamine Yamal, and Raphinha were brilliant in the first half. In the second though, we saw Lamine trying silly nutmegs against the run of play.
This should be a game to level set and learn, like Dani Olmo said in the post game interview.
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The goal is greatness.
That requires consistency.
In this game, we saw a team that could win a treble in the first half, and a team that could fail to win any trophies in the second.
Time to choose which type of team they want to be, and for Flick to identity the players who are the most committed to the hard work that success requires.
