Hansi Flick has a headache when arranging Barcelona's midfield

VIỆT HÙNG |

After struggling to add midfielders at the start of the season, Barcelona are now in a surplus crisis and forcing Hansi Flick to make a choice.

After recent games, especially the emotional comeback against Benfica, the two positions that are almost certain to start in Barcelona's midfield are Pedri and Marc Casado. At the beginning of the season, Dani Olmo was often the starter because Gavi was recovering from an ACL injury. Then Olmo got into financial trouble with Barca and was out of the game for a short time. He has been injured again and is currently out of the game.

Pedri, Gavi, Casado and Olmo are the four midfielders most preferred by Hansi Flick. In the current context, the German coach must soon come up with alternative options.

Last summer, Casado had intended to leave Barca because he was not being used. Flick and Xavi's predecessors did not like Casado so they brought in Ilkay Gundogan from Man City. It was not until Flick took over that Casado was given more playing time and had a chance to shine.

Last summer, during the pre-season, Flick often paired Marc Casado with Marc Bernal. Bernal then suffered a serious ACL injury in the match against Rayo Vallecano and was out for the rest of the season. Left alone to guard the area in front of the defence, the pressure on Casado was greater but because of that, once overcome, the 21-year-old midfielder proved his class.

Marc Casado choi rat tot trong thoi gian gan day moi lan duoc da chinh. Anh: AFP
Marc Casado has been playing very well recently every time he has been in the starting lineup. Photo: AFP

After a long period of struggling with injury, Pedri has returned and proven he is still a world-class midfielder. Under Hansi Flick, the 22-year-old star is the club's fourth-most played player (2,379 minutes).

Pedri is said to have a similar playing style to the legendary Andres Iniesta. In Flick's scheme, Pedri plays a bit higher than Casado, tending to be closer to the home team's half. If Casado has the role of blocking, Pedri takes on the task of recovering and organizing the play very well.

As for Frenkie de Jong, he is someone who makes Flick very difficult. There have been rumors that the Dutch star and the German coach are not happy with each other. However, no reputable source has confirmed this. According to The Athletic, De Jong has been Barca's best training player in recent weeks.

De Jong’s preferred position is alongside a good defensive midfielder who sweeps behind him so he can get forward. De Jong lost his starting spot to Casado due to injury earlier in the season. Now that Casado has settled in, De Jong has failed to overtake Pedri for a regular starting spot.

Frenkie de Jong dang tap luyen rat tot va san sang da chinh bat cu luc nao. Anh: AFP
Frenkie de Jong is training very well and is ready to start at any time. Photo: AFP

Flick’s system will have three midfielders, after Casado and Pedri, the remaining one will be selected to play near the opponent’s penalty area. Currently, there are four options: Gavi, Dani Olmo, Fermin Lopez and Pablo Torre. Of this group, Olmo is the most qualified and suitable. However, the only problem with Olmo is that he has been plagued by minor injuries, leading to irregular contributions.

Since the beginning of the season, Flick has started Casado, Pedri and Olmo in eight matches. This is the German strategist's favorite midfield trio. The time when the Champions League takes a break after the qualifying round is when the Barca captain needs to make a decision and consider his options one last time.

VIỆT HÙNG
TIN LIÊN QUAN

Barcelona's incredible comeback in a 9-goal match

|

Barcelona came from behind to beat Benfica 5-4 in Lisbon.

Fatal weakness makes Barcelona struggle in La Liga

|

Holding Getafe to a draw, Barcelona continued their unimpressive streak in La Liga this year.

Barcelona and the worries of renewing with Lamine Yamal

|

Currently, Barcelona is looking to extend a long-term contract with Lamine Yamal, but they are still having to carefully calculate the salary given to this young talent.

Victory over Real Madrid eases Barcelona's headache

|

Defeating Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup final helped Barcelona somewhat untie the psychological knot.

Accident between passenger bus and electric bicycle, 1 girl died

|

On Highway 13, through Binh Duong province, an accident occurred between an electric bicycle and a passenger bus, killing one person.

Queuing up to get fortune-telling at the ancient temple in Thai Binh

|

Thai Binh - On the second day of the Lunar New Year 2025, many people lined up to wait for fortune telling at the national relic Tien La Temple (Doan Hung Commune, Hung Ha District).

Vung Tau loses top spot in tourism in Ba Ria - Vung Tau

|

For the first time, Xuyen Moc district (Ba Ria - Vung Tau province) welcomed a surge in the number of tourists, achieving revenue more than 3 times that of Vung Tau city on the 2nd day of Tet.

Actress Drew Barrymore celebrates Tet in Hanoi

|

Actress Drew Barrymore surprised Vietnamese audiences when she posted a video on the streets of Hanoi during Lunar New Year.

Barcelona's incredible comeback in a 9-goal match

Chi Trần |

Barcelona came from behind to beat Benfica 5-4 in Lisbon.

Fatal weakness makes Barcelona struggle in La Liga

HƯNG TÌNH |

Holding Getafe to a draw, Barcelona continued their unimpressive streak in La Liga this year.

Barcelona and the worries of renewing with Lamine Yamal

HƯNG TÌNH |

Currently, Barcelona is looking to extend a long-term contract with Lamine Yamal, but they are still having to carefully calculate the salary given to this young talent.

Victory over Real Madrid eases Barcelona's headache

VIỆT HÙNG |

Defeating Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup final helped Barcelona somewhat untie the psychological knot.