Three takeaways for Hansi Flick from Las Palmas 0-2 Barcelona | La Liga | OneFootball

Barcelona maintained their lead on top of the La Liga table with a win over Las Palmas last night, taking their tally to 54 points after 25 games.

The objective was always to settle the scores against the Canary Islands-based side on the night, especially after they beat Hansi Flick and Co. earlier this season in Catalonia.

The opening half concluded goalless after the visitors struggled to find answers for the hosts’ resilient defence, but the half-time change from Flick helped them get their foot back in the game.

Eventually, goals from Dani Olmo and Ferran Tores sealed the 2-0 win and brought home the three vital points.

Barça Universal brings you three takeaways from Las Palmas 0-2 Barcelona.

Substitutes lead the charge

Ferran Torres made a strong impact. (Photo by Florencia Tan Jun/Getty Images)

45 minutes into their game last night, Barcelona looked lost and far from taking the lead at Gran Canaria.

Las Palmas, after making the Catalans suffer for 90 minutes at Monjtuic, were on course to repeat the same and it was clear that a lot needed to change.

Flick made just one change at half-time, taking off Fermin Lopez who was not at his best on the night, and replacing him with Dani Olmo who has slowly been making his way back from injury.

Olmo’s introduction, in itself, changed the course of the game. Indeed the Spaniard required a few touches to get back into the rhythm and was involved in some inaccurate passes, but what followed was increased dominance from Barcelona.

With the attacking midfielder growing into the game, Barcelona began creating more threats more often in the final third and his movements in the box destroyed the hosts’ carefully orchestrated defence.

Mistakes began creeping into the Las Palmas defence despite them looking impenetrable just before the break and it is not surprising that it was Olmo himself who broke the deadlock.

The Spaniard showed immense skill to dribble past defenders in a tight space and create room to shoot past the goalkeeper and made the difficult feat look ridiculously easy to put his side ahead.

Notably, even the second goal against Las Palmas was scored by a player Flick brought off the bench – Torres.

Questions need to be asked about Lewandowski

Robert Lewandowski was disappointing against Las Palmas. (Photo by Florencia Tan Jun/Getty Images)

Barcelona were far from their best across the field last night and a plethora of reasons can be attributed to the same.

If one player had to be picked for being underwhelming and disappointing on the field, not many would object to the finger being pointed towards Robert Lewandowski.

The Polish striker barely contributed to Barcelona’s performance despite playing the entire 90 minutes and had just 23 touches of the ball all game.

He only attempted 13 passes of which he completed 10 and recorded just one shot on target in the entire night.

Lewandowski struggled to create any space in Las Palmas’ low block and the tight spaces in the box saw him lose possession the instant he gained it.

He never got into a great scoring position, and questions now have to be raised about his performances despite his numbers this season.

While the forward has been much better against teams that employ ambitious and attacking play, he has been atrocious against low-blocks and it is high time the manager begins considering alternate options on such nights.

After all, Torres and Olmo operating as a striker or false nine have proven much more effective in tight spaces and both players proved their value last night,

The need for a higher gear

Barcelona won a crucial game. (Photo by Florencia Tan Jun/Getty Images)

The three points from Estadi Gran Canaria are vital in Barcelona’s bid to retain the lead in La Liga, especially given the tight schedule ahead.

Moreover, the 2-0 win over Las Palmas echoes the dressing room’s feelings after the narrow victory last weekend and it is largely positive that Flick’s men are able to get the job done even on nights when they are not at their best.

A short glance at the schedule coming ahead for the Blaugrana, however, reflects the need for them to be at their very best – something they were far from last night.

Despite securing the win over Diego Martinez’s side, Barcelona were not quite hitting the right levels at Gran Canaria.

The team appeared relatively out of sync, players were not on the same bandwidth and the game appeared to be moving much slower than the team has been accustomed to this season.

Barcelona next face Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey and then have the likes of Real Sociedad, Benfica, and Osasuna on their calendar.

There is an urgent need to up their game and return to the level they showed earlier this year. Flick stressed the same in his post-match press conference and it is encouraging that he has taken note of the shortcoming.