Since the end of the 2023-2024 season when Xavi Hernandez left the coaching position, Barcelona has been "below" Real Madrid no matter what.
The championship belongs to the Royal team. The Bernabeu Stadium welcomed two notable rookies, Kylian Mbappe and Endrick, in which Los Blancos did not pay a transfer fee to have the French striker. Of course, the Royal football team is still in a very stable financial condition.
Meanwhile, Barcelona ranked 2nd in La Liga, was soon eliminated in the Champions League, struggled to find new recruits, and tried everywhere to solve financial problems.
In the pre-season friendly period - the beginning of the era of coach Hansi Flick , even if they beat Real Madrid, not all Cule were happy, because that happened for 4 consecutive summers.
And because, if they beat Real Madrid with young stars, when the main players return, Barca will lose 0-3 to AS Monaco in the friendly match for the Joan Gamper Cup.
Therefore, the Catalan team entered the new season with many doubts. However, the German coach and his students accelerated very quickly.
On the morning of August 28, Barcelona had their third consecutive win in La Liga 2024-2025. They are the only team to do that, after Celta Vigo - the team that also won in the first two rounds, lost 3-4 at Villarreal.
Real Madrid stumbled in the first round (draw with Mallorca) and only had 4 points before going away to Las Palmas on Friday morning.
Notably, all 3 of Barca's wins had a score of 2-1 and in 2 of them they were behind.
Robert Lewandowski still showed an important role as a striker, with 3 goals. Lamine Yamal continued his explosive summer at EURO 2024, Pedri continued to mature and it didn't take long for rookie Dani Olmo to score his first goal (a 2-1 win at Rayo Vallecano).
Maybe, Barcelona under the "muscular" hands of a German is no longer as generous, generous, flexible, and seductive as before, but for them right now, the results are more important than anything.
The results bring joy and excitement. The result is the foundation and premise for the opportunity to win the championship at the end of the season. The results can bring back sponsors, bringing in money to overcome difficult times.
While Real Madrid is still struggling to get its stars to adapt to each other, Barcelona will need to accumulate as many points as possible, creating the widest gap possible. Because with a new style, it will be impossible to know when they will be strong enough, steadfast and healthy enough.
When other fronts also come more quickly, your physical condition gradually declines, and the journey will be much more difficult. Remember, in the match against Vallecano, young player Marc Bernal suffered a knee injury and may have to miss half a year and Pedri also had to lie down after a foul by the opponent...
