Barcelona's Pedri and the passes that show why he is different

By / / Sports / 5 minutes of reading


Barcelona really like playing against Valencia. For the second time in two weeks they swept them aside to book a place in the Copa del Rey semi-finals.

They followed the 7-1 home win in La Liga on January 26 with a 5-0 win at the Mestalla and it could have been more. Ferran Torres tore his boyhood club apart with a first-half hat-trick — as Hansi Flick’s team raced into a 4-0 lead after half an hour. Fermin Lopez made the most of another start with a goal and Frenkie de Jong showed another convincing version of himself as a holding midfielder. Lamine Yamal’s second-half strike felt like an afterthought.

But we need to talk about Pedri.

The 22-year-old’s two passes for Barcelona’s second and third goals will live long in the memory — two deliveries of genius.

Ferran Torres scored the second of the game, capitalizing on a loose ball inside the box after a shot by Yamal hit the post, but chaos was unleashed by Barca’s No 8.

Pedri received the ball from Pau Cubarsi on the left hand-side of midfield, quite deep. Valencia players let him turn, his position apparently harmless, until the midfielder did his thing and pulled a trick: an outside of the boot pass that broke two pressing lines and sent Raphinha on a path to goal.

Valencia did not learn the lesson and for the third goal, Pedri was like an NFL quarter-back in disguise.

Pedri received the ball from Cubarsi in the exact deep midfield area again and had to turn around, again. After a quick glance to scan the pitch he spotted Fermin, operating as a roaming No 10, making a run-in-behind the defence.

Pedri’s dinked pass allowed Fermin to dribble past goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski and score the third goal after 29 minutes. That was enough for Valencia fans to leave, game over.

His pass in the build-up for Ferran Torres’ hat-trick — Barca’s fourth — wasn’t bad either…

Pedri was subbed off after 64 minutes, having registered 81 touches, one assist, 60 completed passes from 65 attempts, nine ground duels won out of 10, two interceptions and four tackles.

Barcelona have the top goalscoring frontline among the top five European leagues in Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Yamal. But nobody sets the tempo, orchestrates and measures the brilliance of Flick’s team more than Pedri, who signed a contract extension until 2030 last week.

“I don’t want to compare him with other footballers I’ve managed, but he’s unbelievable,” Flick said in his press conference.

“In this position, he is one of the best in the world. In any position he finds himself on the pitch, he just wants the ball — even under pressure. I am very happy Pedri is here to stay for a long time.”

At the start of the season, the Spain international’s career was at a crossroads. He had just won the Euros with the national team, despite being injured in the quarter-finals against Germany and missing the crunch games.

The dark clouds of the last three seasons at Barca, defined by constant muscular injuries that saw him miss 85 games, loomed over.

There were doubts of his long-term reliability but the sporting direction, led by Deco, declared him an untouchable member of the squad last summer — and talks over a contract extension had begun.

Barcelona requested an extensive analysis on his muscle fibres to get to the bottom of the recent injury record. Results identified Pedri needed to undergo more strength work in the gym. This has been a top priority for the newly-assembled fitness team, led by physiotherapist Julio Tous.

A lot of credit needs to be given to Flick too. The German manager unleashed the best version of Pedri, operating in a new deeper position to the No 10 Xavi Hernandez wanted.

In 2023, after scoring in a 4-1 win against Valencia, Xavi said they wanted Pedri to add more goals into his game.

“We demand Pedri to do those things on the pitch,” he said. “He shoots really well, and he can also take free-kicks. He is still very young and may be a bit shy sometimes, but the skillset he has… is not for everyone. He is not a normal player. His talent is superlative, there are a few like Pedri”.

After a win away to Villarreal, Xavi highlighted how he wanted Pedri operating in the final third. “It is his natural position. He had many situations where he could attack the opponent’s defence and make the last pass.”

The German manager wants Pedri to get on the ball as much as possible, be a free spirit and roam to the areas of the pitch where he feels he is most needed.

Pedri is the calm in the storm of Flick’s Barcelona. The ‘pausa’ the team requires when they move forward too quickly. The best version of himself — a player who must be back in every discussion about the best midfielders in Europe.

(Top photo: Getty Images)





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About The Author

Avatar of Christi Melton
Christi Melton is a writer from The Newspring. She writes about lifestyle, books, sports, education and technology. Her hobbies include reading and playing tennis.

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