Although it was perhaps a bit excessive to speak of a real crisis, FC Barcelona was still going through a delicate period in recent weeks. Although very well placed to finish among the first eight automatically qualified for the Champions League, the Catalans nevertheless have much more difficulty in stringing together matches in La Liga. Beaten by Real Sociedad, they then conceded a draw at the end of the match on the pitch of Celta Vigo (2-2), before the Barcelona supporters began to raise a rant following the defeat against Las Palmas at home on Saturday last, signing a third unsuccessful match in a row (1-2). Traveling to the Balearic Islands on Tuesday evening to face Mallorca on matchday 16, Barça had to get back on track. And thanks to a very good collective performance, Hansi Flick and his staff can breathe easy. The first storm of the season already seems to be in the past.
After the match, Raphinha, one of the protagonists of Barça’s victory in Mallorca with a double, underlined the importance of getting back on the path to victory after three punctures at the Movistar microphone: “we knew the importance of winning again. We knew that in the last three league matches something was missing to win. Today we were good, I wouldn’t say we played our best game, but the most important thing was to win and we achieved it», insisted the Brazilian striker. Indeed, the Blaugrana badly needed to send a message this Tuesday evening. While Real Madrid had returned to within one point of their Catalan rivals in the standings, Hansi Flick’s troops did not simply want to win on the lawn of the Campo de fútbol de Son Moix, but also to rediscover the ingredients of domination and superiority that they had lost during November.
Hansi Flick raves
As it could not be otherwise, Hansi Flick was delighted at the press conference after the match against Mallorca. After returning to victory in La Liga, the Barça coach wanted to highlight the work of all his players, with a special mention for Lamine Yamal: “it was very important to win this match. In the first half we had a lot of chances and we were able to score one or two more goals. Then we made a mistake and it cost us 1-1. We are very happy, we deserved these three points, we created chances and we scored. As I said yesterday at the press conference, we are happy that the November shit is over and December is starting now“, he said. After three weeks of absence due to an ankle injury, Lamine Yamal, with a goal scored and a penalty caused, is officially back and in style, as he said: “it was a very important victory after the two defeats in La Liga. It was very important to win with a result like that, and we are very happy. My ankle is doing great and I’m ready to play as many matches as necessary“.
If the usual executives Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski were strong, two other players played a leading role in the meeting, Ferran Torres and Frenkie de Jong, who also deserve the praise of the former Germany coach : “Today he managed to score a goal in the first half. He is very important, he can generate a lot of things for the team, we know his quality and we need him. But it wasn’t just him who played well. I always talk about the central defenders, it’s not always easy with our style of play, about Pedri in midfield, about Rapha, I’m also very happy for Ferran who scored, Gavi was super good today. Eric is back and we have more options for changes“, explained the German. In any case, the sun seems, little by little, to return to the Barcelona sky. The next matches in La Liga (Betis, Léganes and Atlético de Madrid) will be decisive to officially end the calendar year at the top of the standings and spend the end-of-year holidays with a smile.
