Europa Press, E-Noticies Barça Defeats Valladolid, but Flick Makes It Clear: 'You're Not Playing in the Champions League'
The match leaves clear conclusions for the Barça side: Flick already has it clear for the rest of the season
Hansi Flick, once again, has shown his top-level coaching skills to turn around a match that had become very challenging. Valladolid, with nothing to lose, started at full throttle and managed to take the lead. However, Flick waved his magic wand at halftime and turned the situation around to achieve a valuable 2-1 victory.
Barça arrived at the Estadio de Zorrilla with massive rotations, thinking about next Tuesday's commitment against Inter Milan. The return leg of the Champions League semifinals occupies much of Hansi Flick's attention as shown by his line-up tonight. Cubarsí and Ferran stayed on the bench, while less regular players like Ansu Fati had their chance.
Flick Makes Decisions After Valladolid-Barça
The decisive stretch of the season is already here, and Hansi Flick needs to manage efforts to the maximum to compete for all the titles at stake. LaLiga and the Champions League are still hanging in the air, so the margin for error is minimal. That's why, after tonight's victory, Flick must make decisions.
For example, Héctor Fort has once again proven that he has enough level to replace Koundé in an emergency situation. Pau Víctor also left a good impression with his constant mobility. However, Ansu Fati has once again disappointed the Barça fans, and especially Hansi Flick.
Ansu Fati Misses the Train
Ansu Fati had a golden opportunity to show that he can have more minutes at Barça. Hansi Flick placed him as a starter in the position usually occupied by Raphinha, alongside Pau Víctor and with significant weight in the Barça team's scheme. But the reality is that his performance was quite poor, so much so that he was substituted at halftime.
Ansu Fati appeared quite apathetic overall, lacking mobility and showing little desire to prove himself. Dani Rodríguez, who debuted tonight, was much more incisive than Ansu and caused much more danger. It's clear that Barça's '10' is far from the level needed for the big Champions night next Tuesday, and Hansi Flick no longer has doubts.
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