The great ‘Achilles heel’ of Hansi Flick’s FC Barcelona this season
Lamine Yamal‘s injury has been a real headache for Hansi Flick. The youth player has missed three games (Osasuna, Real Sociedad and Celta), in one of them he was a substitute due to a technical decision, and FC Barcelona have not been able to take the three points in any of these, making it clear that the German has not found the ‘key’ when replacing him in the starting XI.
The Barça coach has opted for three different players to take the place of the ’19’ in the line-up. At El Sadar, it was Ferran Torres who was chosen to take charge of the right wing. The Catalan team was defeated by a resounding score of 4-2 and the Valencian barely had any influence in attack. In fact, the player was replaced by Lamine himself and he scored the second goal for the Catalans in Pamplona.
Later, due to the injury of the Foios player and the absence of Yamal due to his ankle problems, Flick opted to give Fermín López the starting role at Anoeta. The Andalusian did not complete the entire match and this change in the system did not convince the German coach, who saw his team fall to the ‘txuri-urdin’ by the minimum without Lamine on the field.
Flick’s big doubt against Brest
Finally, against Celta de Vigo, the German decided to change the wing to Raphinha who returned to his natural position, with Dani Olmo occupying the left wing. However, the player from Egar did not look comfortable stuck to the wing and Barça paid for the lack of imbalance to finish off a match that ended in a draw thanks to the ‘in extremis’ comeback by the locals.
This coming Tuesday, November 26, the Blaugranas host Brest at Montjuïc in the Champions League and will once again be without Yamal, so it remains to be seen whether Flick opts again for the Olmo-Raphinha duo on the wings or opts for a new combination. Whatever happens, the truth is that the coach needs answers to show that there is no ‘Laminedependence’ in Barcelona.