Barcelona took advantage of Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid’s stalemate this weekend by comfortably beating Sevilla despite playing half an hour with 10 men.
It has taken a while for Barcelona to rediscover their form in La Liga, after a tough couple of months at the end of 2024. In October, things were looking fantastic, particularly after a 4-0 Clasico win at the Bernabeu extended their lead at the top of the table to six points.
But then came, in Hansi Flick’s words, a “s*** November”, and December wasn’t much better. Barcelona surrendered and the lost ground to their rivals and it was not until mid-January that the tide turned. Since then they have won three on the spin in La Liga, scoring 12 goals in that time. During that time Real Madrid and Atletico have suffered setbacks, too.
Barcelona are one point behind second-placed Atletico, and two behind first-placed Real Madrid. They still have to play both those teams — Atletico in March and Real in mid-May.
Flick’s team started with purpose against Sevilla, taking a 7th-minute lead through Robert Lewandowski. Ruben Vargas drew Sevilla level soon after but in the second half Barcelona blew their opponents away. Goals from Fermin Lopez, Raphinha and Eric Garcia completed the scoring, although Barcelona had to dig deep in the final 30 minutes after Lopez was sent off.
Laia Cervello Herrero analyses the key talking points from the win…
What does De Jong starting mean for Casado?
Flick has blind faith in Frenkie de Jong and has not rested until he has found a position in which the Dutchman performs well.
For a while, De Jong has been training at an extremely high level, often standing out among his team-mates, but it has taken time for him to translate that into game situations. In the last few matches, we have started to see why Flick has such trust in him.
Under Xavi Hernandez, De Jong was never convincing as a sole defensive pivot, nor when he played a little further forward. In the 2023-24 season, after Sergio Busquets had left for Inter Miami, Xavi never stopped looking for someone to take over his role in the team. To him, De Jong was not the answer.
Barcelona were fortunate this season that unexpected emergence of Marc Casado from the academy coincided with injuries to De Jong and Marc Bernal. It felt like the team had a holding midfielder again and his place in Flick’s XI was unquestioned.
Casado impressed in the most important matches, which meant De Jong started on the bench, even after he returned from injury. Flick was very impressed with Casado during pre-season and in the first few games of the campaign. In fact, the 21-year-old from La Masia seemed like an extension of Flick on the field. He was the player that the coach talked to most during games.
However, Flick is open to trying other things and is not set in his ways when it comes to team selection. When Barcelona played Betis in the last 16 of the Copa del Rey on January 15, Flick started De Jong and since then he has had a spring in his step, playing with confidence and with a smile on his face.
In the last four games, De Jong has been chosen ahead of Casado in central midfield. In Barcelona, many are wondering if the change that took place in the goalkeeping position — where Flick dropped Inaki Pena for Wojciech Szczesny — might be repeated in midfield.
Is De Jong (who is far from loved by Barcelona’s fans) going to take Casado’s place on a regular basis?
A familiar fragility in defence
It was a good and eventually comfortable win in Sevilla but Vargas’ goal provided the latest example of the defensive fragility that threatens to undermine Barcelona’s season.
Flick’s team are playing some of the best football in Spain but they are not top of the table, and that is down to the mistakes they have made at the back.
Against Sevilla, they started with a centre-back pairing of Ronald Araujo and Inigo Martinez, to give the 18-year-old Pau Cubarsi a rest. However, this only lasted 22 minutes, before Araujo went off injured and had to be replaced by the teenager.
A minute after Lewandowski put Barcelona in front, Sevilla were level following a quick counter-attack that the visitors had no answer to.
Barcelona’s high defensive line often leads to this kind of scenario. Flick’s defence play high-risk football and Araujo does not seem as well suited to that as Cubarsi and Martinez. They play in a more proactive way when it comes to stopping their opponents, whereas Araujo is more reactive in his style.
The Uruguay international is Barcelona’s best centre-back defensively, but he is not as adept going forward and starting moves from the back. Sometimes he leaves Barcelona exposed and that was the case on Sunday night — he reacted too late and Vargas made him pay.
Fermin Lopez’s rollercoaster cameo
Flick’s substitutions in recent matches have been spot on and the most eye-catching this time was Fermin Lopez, who came on to replace Gavi at half-time.
“Everyone knows that the referees don’t mess with me,” Gavi told DAZN after the game. “He (Flick) knew I had yellow cards and the game wasn’t the time to be silly. That’s why he took me off.”
And so Gavi was removed just minutes into the second half. What happened next was surprising for two reasons.
Flick chose Lopez to come on, rather than Dani Olmo. The latter is the more likely starter for Barcelona, but Lopez had found form with four goals in his previous five games, while Flick has been cautious with Olmo given his history of injuries in recent years. It’s been hard for Olmo to build up any rhythm in the last few months, either because of injury or the saga over his registration with La Liga.
Lopez’s 16 minutes on the pitch were eventful and impactful. His red card for a dangerous tackle on Djibril Sow meant Barcelona played 30 minutes with 10 men but he had already helped change the game in a positive way.
At the start of the second half, Barcelona were struggling to force a breakthrough to take the lead. Within seconds of coming on, Lopez made it 2-1 and in his short spell he was full of energy and ideas. Raphinha’s goal, the team’s third, was scored in the 55th minute.
In the 62nd minute Lopez’s momentum carried him into Sow and he was sent off after a VAR review. He left the field angry and frustrated at the decision. Flick gave him a hug as he went past and Gavi followed him down the tunnel. Lopez was the only player who did not stop in the mixed zone after the match, instead going straight to the team coach.
Fortunately for Lopez, the final 30 minutes were straightforward for Barcelona. Sevilla did not put up a fight and a late goal from Garcia secured an important victory.
What’s next for Barcelona?
Monday, February 17: Rayo Vallecano (home), La Liga, 9pm CET (8pm BST/3pm ET).
(Photo: Fran Santiago/Getty Images)
