‘That’s why we decided he had to come‘ — Hansi Flick explains decision to re-sign Joao Cancelo on loan | OneFootball

FC Barcelona created so many chances against Real Sociedad at the Reale Arena. On any other night, they would have walked away from this game with five or six goals to their name, but that was not the case last night.

Everything that could go wrong went wrong for Hansi Flick’s team, who simply could not force the ball into the back of the net. It is a game the team will want to forget as soon as possible and move on.

One interesting development for Barcelona was the second debut of Joao Cancelo. Back at the club for his second loan spell, the Portuguese full-back was brought on around the hour mark, replacing Alejandro Balde.

He played 20 minutes on the left flank, even producing a delightful cross that Jules Kounde headed on to the bar, then switched to the right after the latter was substituted, looking to link with Lamine in the remaining minutes.

Photo by Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images

After the game, Hansi Flick hinted at a versatile role for Cancelo and that he could be deployed on both flanks, claiming that was why he was brought in, in the first place. As quoted by Mundo Deportivo, he said:

“He can play on both wings, that’s why we decided he had to come. On both sides.”

Last night was Cancelo’s first appearance under Hansi Flick, and he had a couple of moments that showed what he can offer the team. That said, the Portuguese international still needs to get up to speed.

Having hardly featured for Al Hilal this season, it is no surprise that the versatile defender is a bit rusty. He is also not yet on the same wavelength as his teammates, and the coming weeks should help address that.

Cancelo could offer a lot of attacking threat when played instead of Balde or Kounde, and let us see whether he is given more minutes against Slavia Praha in the Champions League midweek.