Three talking points as Barcelona face Osasuna in La Liga | OneFootball

After one of the narrower triumphs of the Flick era, Barcelona travels to Pamplona seeking to extend their incredible win streak with a potential victory over Osasuna. Defeating Getafe 1-0 meant that La Blaugrana continued their 100% win rate, and, heading into this matchday with such confidence, will pursue a historic 8th win against their Basque counterparts.

Barca News Network brings you 3 talking points ahead of the Osasuna vs Barcelona clash in the 8th round of La Liga’s 2024/25 campaign.

1. Two-faced opposition

Osasuna has been a decent mid-table team for the last couple of years, even clinching a spot in the Conference League for last season. However, their former manager Jagoba Arrasate has left the club for Mallorca, ending a 6-year era at Pamplona, with Vicente Moreno replacing him.

Their start to the season has been somewhat mixed. Since the league opener, they’ve only managed to win on home soil, remaining winless away. An interesting point to consider heading into the weekend, though it’s worth noting that these results still leave them with 11 points and a respectable 7th place. Of course, the sample size is small.

Barcelona, on the other hand, looks strong as ever. 7 wins out of 7, +18 goals difference, pure domination. And historically, the record looks just as scary for Osasuna: the last time they could win against the Catalans was in 2020, and only 2 times in total since 2010. The numbers and history favor Barcelona, but never forget, it’s football.

2. A man who surpassed the expectations

Hansi Flick was in a tough spot when he arrived at Barcelona. Financial troubles, tons of injuries, and a tight squad filled with academy youngsters – not an ideal scenario to say the least. Yet, he not only managed to bring good results, he did it with great overall play and individuals also blossoming in this system.

One such player is Marc Casadó, who quickly became a mainstay in Barcelona’s starting XI and continues to impress again and again in every game. Though it wasn’t Flick who gave him his first chance at the senior team, the German was the one who really trusted him in the tough times – and it paid off wonderfully.

Casadó started the season alongside his fellow La Masia graduate Marc Bernal in Flick’s double pivot, but after his peer’s injury, he took over his position and continues to excel in any role the coach gives him. Be it the deeper player who aids the buildups more or the one who often pushes higher in the halfspace to support the attacks, he can do both flawlessly.

His passing ability is what one would expect from a typical Barcelona midfielder, precise, secure, with a high completion rate even though he is not afraid to take the risky pass either. His long balls are elite as well and he already has multiple assists to his name.

Against the ball, he fits perfectly in Flick’s high-octane pressing structure, always active, running, engaging in, and winning duels to recover possession. Initially, his introduction was forced by the injury crisis that plagued the Catalans’ midfield, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise, unearthing such a gem he is. If not for rotations, he will surely have a place in the starting XI against Osasuna.

3. Even more rotations?

So far, Flick seemed to be flexible with the rotation of his players, not afraid to bench some of his most important players once in a while. For example, Pedri started the last game from the bench, Sergi Domínguez started against Villarreal instead of Cubarsí while Gerard Martín played the whole game.

It’s clear that the German manager wants to rotate his squad as much as he can to preserve energy, and fitness, and prevent fatigue and injuries which already cause great problems for us. That is also important to know how physically challenging Flick’s style of play is which heavily builds on intensity, a lot of running, covering ground, pressing, and directness.

However, the frontline remains largely untouched. The trio of Raphinha, Lewandowski, and Yamal has started every game this season, and it wasn’t rare for them to play the full 90 minutes. Raphinha is probably the least rested player out of the three, but given how he fits this concept and enjoys his form, it’s understandable.

Lewandowski is aging indeed, but his physical preparation is still elite – played nearly all of the games last season without proper backup, without significant injury – and given the role Flick gave him preserves more energy for him off the ball, it clearly benefits him too.

Lamine, however, despite his incredible talent that he showcases week in and week out, which would normally earn him play every single minute to maximize his potential, is still a 17-year-old to be protected from physical overload, a problem that has already haunted some of our promising youngsters.

Maybe it’s time to see some variations in the frontline from Flick, even though it’s hard to dismantle something that is working so well. Barcelona’s bulldozer moves onwards, and the next obstacle in the way to the coveted La Liga trophy will be Osasuna. Will they continue their perfect record or will the Basques put a stop to their run?