“We have to win this game,” Hansi Flick confessed half an hour before the start of the match. Victory was necessary, with no room for error. “We need more concentration,” asked the coach. The captain and leader Raphinha, together with Lamine Yamal, awarded it to get Barcelona out of the tie hole. “We knew the importance of winning again. We were good, although it wasn’t our best game. I can say that I am at my best, but I don’t want to stop here: I want to do much more for this shield,” said the Brazilian, a hero in Mallorca. In Son Moix, in addition, the match also served for the personal vindication, each with a different battle, of three players who scored: Ferran, Frenkie de Jong and Pau Víctor. A reunion of collective play, and also of individualities. And Flick smiled: “I am very happy with today’s performance.”
Although at the beginning, despite Ferran’s goal, the dynamics of the last games were still present: in the half, Barcelona accumulated seven shots, three on goal, and many losses. After the break they woke up. “We created many opportunities in the first half. At half-time we talked about what we wanted in the second half and we are happy with the three points,” said Flick. And with Lamine as the starter, Barcelona does not know defeat: the Barça club had not won any of the four games it has played without Lamine in the starting eleven. “Lamine is always important. It makes a big difference in our team,” Flick confessed. Against Mallorca, he was fundamental with two assists and causing the penalty that Raphinha converted, the second time he forced it this season, and also the second time that the Brazilian took advantage of it. The captain is already the second highest scorer in the League with 11 goals.
A match that also served to renew the confidence of three players. He Shark appeared in Mallorca and, despite his finishing errors, Ferran scored his second goal this season. There was also room for Frenkie de Jong in the midfield position: in just 19 minutes he scored a goal – he had not scored since February 24, 2024 – and an assist. “Frenkie deserves it and works very hard. He helps us on and off the field. He is one of our captains, and everyone in the locker room is happy for him,” Raphinha confessed. And Pau Víctor, always in the shadow of Lewandowski, scored the last goal and second for him this season. “One of the strong points of this team is the ambition we have,” said the young man.
The three took advantage of Robert Lewandowski’s absence. The Pole, top scorer in the league with 15 goals, was not so good in the last games of the local competition. Flick justified his absence as a rest: “He has played many minutes and it is necessary for him to rest. Next weekend we have a big game. “He will do well.” He didn’t add any minutes in Mallorca, and that didn’t stop the culés from scoring five goals.
Barcelona returns to the path of victory, also that of the rout, now with 37 points and 48 goals scored in the League. For now, the crisis is buried.
