Three talking points as Barcelona beat Athletic Club 2-1 in the Spanish Super Cup | OneFootball

FC Barcelona have a chance to win their first silverware of the season as they have booked themselves a place in the finals of the Spanish Super Cup by beating a resolute Athletic Club side 2-0, thanks to goals from Gavi and Lamine Yamal.

It wasn’t necessarily a vintage display from Hansi Flick’s side but they did enough to get past the Basque side on the night. Despite not being at their best as a collective, some solid individual performances helped the Catalan club get past Ernesto Valverde’s side.

Of all the things that happened last night, it was the return of Gavi on the scoresheet that would have really pleased Hansi Flick. He has been back for a while now but his performances now seem to be improving with every passing game and he looks finally close to his best version.

With all this in mind and a potential El Clásico date on the horizon, here are three talking points for Barcelona from their 2-1 win over Athletic Club in the semifinals of the Spanish Super Cup.

1. Gavi is back!

Barcelona fans have been waiting for a long time to see Gavi return to his best since his unfortunate ACL injury. The Spaniard has been back for some time now but seems to be slowly working his way back to full fitness.

It is never easy for any player to return from such a serious injury and even at the level that he has come back, Gavi has impressed. However, last night against Athletic Club was a culmination of all his good work and a sign of things to come under Hansi Flick.

Deployed as the number 10 on the night in the absence of Dani Olmo, which would have mostly been due to his ability to sustain pressure up front, Gavi did more than just that, scoring, providing an assist, and ensuring that every single blade of grass was covered on the pitch.

It was the moment that he went head first into a tackle where the opposition defender struck out a boot was the instance that announced to the entire footballing world – ‘Gavi is back. He is back like he never left the scene!’. Hopefully, the player can keep getting better from here on.

2. Marc Casadó is the engine of this team

One moment that summed up who Marc Casadó is and what he means to the team happened late in the second half against Athletic Club. Alejandro Berenguer was off on his bike in a defense-to-attack transition for the Basque club.

Jules Kounde had ventured up the field in the previous attacking transition and there was no right-back covering the attacker. Marc Casadó, despite knowing he was never going to win a foot race with the Spaniard, covered him all the way and produced a clean crunching tackle to come away with the ball.

It was a moment that summed up Marc Casadó. Since he broke into the first team, he has been the single most important player around whom the whole team has functioned. Without him, Barcelona won’t be half as effective as they have been so far.

Thus, it is extremely justified to label the Spanish international as the engine room of Hansi Flick’s team. Barcelona must do everything that they can to retain him and he is bound to be a genuine superstar going forward.

3. A potential El Clásico date, with Dani Olmo!

FC Barcelona still don’t know who they are going to face in the Super Cup finals with the semifinal between FC Mallorca and Real Madrid yet to take place. That said, it would be a massive surprise if Los Blancos don’t manage to get the better of their opponents.

Thus, a potential El Clásico final awaits Barcelona in the final. They will be boosted by the availability of both Dani Olmo and Pau Víctor, with CSD granting permission to register them temporarily and allowing them to play.

It is a huge boost for Barcelona but it remains to be seen if Hansi Flick makes any changes for the final. Considering the team played well against Athletic Club, he might want to persist with the same line-up against Real Madrid, or Mallorca if they do the unthinkable.

Beating Real Madrid to the trophy would be an absolute momentum injector for Barcelona in their bid to revive their La Liga title race. It remains to be seen what awaits them but Hansi Flick’s men will be keen on securing their first silverware and only time will tell how it plays out.