The French defender, who was rested during the derby against Espanyol, ended the evening with a hat-trick of assists against Red Star.
Jules Koundé arrived fresh for the match against Red Star. The French defender missed the derby against Espanyol, Héctor Fort having taken his place. Flick wanted him to be in top shape for the clash against the Serbs, as he is one of his most used players, and despite his excellent physical condition (he also trains after the matches), he must everything likewise take breaks to avoid burnout. On Sunday, Barcelona will face a tough challenge at the Reale Arena, and the season is long.
In the first half, Koundé was a little timid in attack, although he made several overflow runs down the wing. Initially, he was expected to mark the Serbian team’s most fearsome player, Maksimovic, the daring 17-year-old who wanted to prove he was better than Lamine Yamal. From what we saw during the match, that wasn’t the case at all, and he ended up being replaced.
Unstoppable. Although he lacked finishing in the first half, Koundé completely revealed himself in the second. He had a crazy night at the Pequeño Maracaná and only missed the opportunity to score to cap off a perfect evening. The French full-back finished with a hat-trick of assists.
To begin with, he set up Lewandowski for his 99th Champions League goal, three minutes later he provided an assist to Raphinha, who scored his usual goal, and shortly after, he gifted a goal to Fermín. Koundé had only one assist this season previously; it was in La Liga against Girona, and Dani Olmo took the opportunity to score.
Senegal
