Barça had a superb start to the season. But Hansi Flick’s troops were facing their first Tourmalet of the season this week. In the space of just six days, they challenged Sevilla FC, then Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. A particularly tense schedule, since if the Andalusians were an affordable rival for the Blaugranas, the Bavarians had been the bane of the Catalans for a while in Europe. As for the Clasico, there is no need to specify the stakes and the symbolism of such a match against the sworn enemy.
A hellish week that the people of Barcelona got through brilliantly. A 5-1 success against Sevilla, a big 4-1 victory against Bayern then a humiliation inflicted on Real Madrid at the Bernabéu (4-0). The perfect week, and probably a big turning point in the Barcelona season. If they were already in good shape before facing this series of not easy meetings, the Blaugrana sent a message to Spain and Europe.
Barça is back?
There could still be doubts and a need for confirmation against rivals of a certain caliber, but the few remaining detractors were forced to eat their hats. This Barça is now the big favorite in La Liga, and can claim to wear a more or less similar costume in the Champions League as well, a competition in which Lamine Yamal’s gang finally hopes to make a great run.
And above all, it is a milestone that has been reached on a mental level. Thanks to these two victories, which remain symbolic since they occur very early in the season, Barça has partly got rid of its demons of the past. Often mistreated by the big European clubs, the Catalan club has shown that today it needs to be (re)taken seriously, and is getting rid of this label as a losing and fragile team. Of course, it will be necessary to confirm in the months to come, and the hardest part is still to be done, but this Barça clearly looks like a potential champion of Spain and Europe…
