Raphinha’s back, Flick’s concern and more – Three takeaways from Barcelona 3-1 Alaves | OneFootball

A Lamine Yamal goal and a Dani Olmo brace helped Barcelona take a 3-1 win over Deportivo Alaves last evening in a game that could well have gone either way.

With both Pedri and Frenkie de Jong unavailable to start, Hansi Flick deployed Marc Casado and Marc Bernal as his double pivot with Olmo ahead of them. 

Gerard Martin joined Pau Cubarsi at centre-back, while Alejandro Balde and Eric Garcia were the full-backs. In attack, the team had the trio of Robert Lewandowski, Lamine Yamal, and Raphinha all starting together for the first time this season.

The win at Spotify Camo Nou takes Barcelona provisionally to the top of the table, two points clear of Real Madrid, who play Girona later today.

Barça Universal brings you three takeaways from Barcelona 3-1 Deportivo Alaves.

Raphinha is back like he was never out

Barcelona’s performance against Alaves may not have been their most convincing one of the season, especially after they conceded early on in the game.

The surprising matter, however, was how influential the players who returned from injury looked on the night, and how much superior they looked to the seemingly ‘fit’ names.

Raphinha made his first start since returning from injury, and words cannot put into perspective what he brought to the team’s performance.

With the Brazilian out wide on the left flank, Barcelona’s attack seemingly progressed more down that flank than Lamine Yamal on the right. Alejandro Balde, too, looked more potent than ever, linking up with the captain.

What stood out the most was Raphinha’s work rate off the ball and how he was the team’s most effective presser despite just coming back from injury. He urged his teammates forward to contribute to the press as well and made the team look far better.

In the end, it was not surprising at all that two of Barcelona’s goals were made possible only by his overlapping runs and cut-backs, which were lethal, and Flick will be pleased with how sharp Raphinha looked.

Olmo and Yamal look sharp

Lamine was very good vs Alaves. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

Apart from Raphinha, there were a few other Barcelona players who outdid themselves against Alaves relative to what they have shown all season, with Olmo and Yamal being the main candidates.

Dani Olmo, for the first time this season, looked sharp playing as the attacking midfielder and made all the right movements both on and off the ball.

It is hard to say if his good performance was directly linked with Raphinha’s return to the field, but the Spaniard was sharper than ever, combined well in tight spaces, and could well have scored four goals.

For Flick, Olmo could not have stepped up at a better time, especially given Fermin Lopez’s untimely injury. After all, he scored the goal that gave the team the lead in the first half and again netted the third goal late on.

For Yamal, the game was an indication that he is slowly getting back to his previous level and that his injury can fade away. It is clear he still faces some discomfort and does not accelerate as much as last season, but the performance gave hope.

Yamal was confident in take-ons, pulled off some wonderful dribbling sequences, and wrapped up the game with a goal and an assist to his name. He may not be free of his pubalgia yet, but one hopes he gets there soon.

Hansi Flick’s understandable concern

What struck fans across the globe the most last night was the visual of desolate Hansi Flick sitting on the bench dazed after the game, looking almost helpless and defeated, with Raphinha consoling him.

To see such a visual after the team won a game 3-1 shows the astronomical expectations the manager has from his team, and how he feels let down by their lack of commitment.

One of the primary reasons for Flick’s disappointment and concern, needless to say, was the obvious drop in intensity once Raphinha was taken off – something that signals that the team only presses when marshalled by the Brazilian.

The lack of initiative to do better, press as a unit, and dominate games as they did last season concerns the manager, for his entire defensive setup bases itself on maximising the press as a unit and leveraging attacking chances.

There is still a long way to go, and with Pedri, Frenkie de Jong, and Raphinha all back in starting roles for the next game, there is hope that the team will only grow in a positive direction.

Yet, one can only understand why Flick feels so defeated this season, and there is a real need for the players to see the same and step up to deliver.