When the starting lineup for the Copa Del Rey semi-final against Atletico Madrid was announced, many fans were skeptical about Hansi Flick letting Ferran Torres start instead of Robert Lewandowski in attack.
Although in the race for La Liga and Champions League, if they beat Atletico, the door to the first and possibly only final of the season will be wide open. However, Hansi Flick was a gambler.
In the end, that gamble helped the German strategist win. However, this is not the first time this season that Ferran Torres has started, although he is still skeptical about his class. The Spanish striker's goal in the 27th minute decided the final ticket for Barca.
It was a very smart move by Torres. He ran around behind the opponent's central defender duo, passed the goalkeeper's key and put the ball into the net after a pass from Lamine Yamal.
This is an unusual style for the former Man City star. Previously, the 25-year-old star was often criticized for handling the ball too cumbersily, but his goal against Atletico showed the opposite.
Although he has often played as a reserve for Lewy this season, Torres has been in very good form every time he comes on as a substitute. According to Opta, the Barca striker is the player who needs the fewest minutes to score when put on the field, based on all strikers in the top 5 leagues with 10 or more goals. Torres has scored 16 goals in 1,292 minutes (an average of 1 shot per 81 minutes).
La Liga and the Champions League may be Lewandowski's playground, but Copa Del Rey helps Torres score. He has scored 5 goals since the beginning of the season in this playground (after 4 matches), equal to Julian Alvarez (Atletico Madrid) and Endrick (Real Madrid).
In February, Torres scored a hat-trick in the quarter-finals against Villarreal, thereby helping Barca reach the semi-finals. Therefore, Barca fans are now looking forward to Torres's goal-scoring fate to help them overcome the last goal, Real, in the final on April 26.
Currently, Ferran Torres has played for Barcelona for more than 3 years. In terms of individual stature and the price of 55 million Euros, Torres is still considered by many fans to be uningenious. He is not a top striker, has a relatively large experience, is not a model to lead his juniors and is not the main force in the new era of Hansi Flick.
However, Torres is patient and modest. He accepted the reserve situation to learn and rise up every day. Torres's perseverance was highly appreciated by his teammates and nicknamed him "The Sharp".
Barca are still hunting for the striker to add strength to the attack. The ideal type that Blaugrana are aiming for is someone who can drift left but when needed will be ready to take the lead in the spearhead or attack position, gradually replacing Lewandowski when the Polish striker's contract expires in the summer of 2026.
Barca's targets this summer are Luis Diaz (Liverpool) and Alexander Isak (Newcastle) who are unlikely to make landfall at Camp Nou due to the high price.
Therefore, the possibility of Torres being taken advantage is very high. If Hansi Flick plays another gamble, gradually pushing Torres to the starting role and succeeding, he will remove all the difficulties in the upcoming period for Barcelona.
