Barcelona briefing: Lewandowski can't be dropped, Marc Bernal's ...

Hansi Flick’s new era at Barcelona started with a hard-fought win at Valencia, coming back from one goal down thanks to a brace by Robert Lewandowski.

The hosts had started the game on the front foot and managed to get ahead through Hugo Duro, who headed home a cross from Diego Lopez.

But Flick’s young Barcelona side showed character to complete the turnaround.

Here, The Athletic’s Pol Ballus analyses the game and runs through all of the key talking points.

With Hansi Flick keen to assemble a high-pressing team, there have been growing doubts in Barcelona over the role Robert Lewandowski can play. The Poland striker will turn 36 next week and is surely past his physical peak.

He has also been questioned for his struggles in link-up play, being unable to thrive in tight spaces. As much as these may be valid concerns for Barca fans, last night he reminded them and everyone else exactly why Flick will still be able to rely on him.

The way Lewandowski moved inside the box and read Lamine Yamal’s cross before it had even left the youngster’s boot was textbook No 9 play. He had been struggling up to that point, but that simple tap-in not only brought Barcelona level just before half-time, it also changed the script of the game for both the player and his team.

There’s no other player in the Barcelona squad with that striker’s instinct — a despairing Ferran Torres performance helped prove that point. It didn’t really matter that the 35-year-old was otherwise barely involved in the game. He played the 90 minutes, but 10 Barca players ended the game with more touches than his 32.

The short answer is yes. Valencia coach Ruben Baraja picked out that moment as the defining one of the game. In the 55th minute, with Barcelona now on top, an already-booked Cubarsi made a cynical foul on striker Hugo Duro.

The Mestalla erupted, demanding a second booking, but referee Jose Maria Sanchez Martinez spared the 17-year-old. Flick, aware the youngster was riding his luck, replaced him with Andreas Christensen eight minutes later.

Cubarsi did not have a bad game; in fact he saved Barcelona from going 2-0 down with a goal-line clearance after a Ter Stegen howler. But reading when he can afford to be that aggressive in his defensive play is clearly something he needs to keep working on.

The changes made by Flick, combined with Valencia tiring, meant the game ended relatively comfortably for Barca.

Meet the latest La Masia starlet that will surely become a regular at Barcelona.

After an impressive pre-season, Flick gave 17-year-old holding midfielder Marc Bernal his La Liga debut at one of the most intimidating stadiums in the competition. Bernal passed the test with ease.

He played 71 minutes, touched the ball 61 times, completed 49 passes with 94 per cent accuracy and lost possession only five times. His height (191cm) allowed him to win five out of eight aerial duels, complete four tackles and block one shot.

Stats aside, it’s his reading of the game that most stands out. He knows how to break the opposition line with a pass, gets involved in the build-up, and offers a better creative force than Christensen will ever do in this position.

Born in 2007, he is from the same generation as Yamal and Cubarsi, with whom he’s shared dressing rooms in La Masia since a very young age.

???? Desde #LALIGAFCFUTURES a #LALIGAEASPORTS.

???? Marc Bernal ❤️ Lamine Yamal ???? Pau Cubarsí

???? ¡Los jóvenes diamantes del @FCBarcelona_es! pic.twitter.com/NLiwCux28u

— LALIGA (@LaLiga) August 17, 2024

Bernal has shone especially bright when he’s played alongside Marc Casado, another standout La Masia graduate and Bernal’s midfield partner last season with the club’s B team. And on the day they were both granted their first La Liga starts, they acted as a perfect double act.

While Casado is more of a tidy box-to-box bulldozer, Bernal certainly looks to have the higher potential. The skill set is there for him to be the next Barcelona holding midfielder. Now it is on the club to provide him the time, platform and trust to blossom.

Of the 16 players Flick used in Valencia, eight have played in La Masia. Cubarsi, Bernal, Casado, Alejandro Balde and Yamal were in the starting line-up. Gerard Martin, Eric Garcia and Pau Victor came off the bench.

In a time the club have mortgaged their future to land big-name signings, and struggle to register players under the salary limit, they are so often forced to rely on the kids — and they always deliver.

Barca would do well to stop daydreaming about huge signings and just give bigger roles to their youngsters. The early signs are that Flick may do just that — maybe because there has been no other option. But in a season where the odds are stacked so massively against them, given the strength of a great Real Madrid side, this can surely save his legacy at the club.

(Top photo: Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Pol joined The Athletic in 2021, initially moving to Manchester to assist us with our Manchester City, Manchester United and Spanish reporting. Since 2015 he has been an English football correspondent for multiple Spanish media, such as Diario Sport and RAC1 radio station. He has also worked for The Times. In 2019, he co-wrote the book Pep’s City: The Making of a Superteam. He will now move back to Spain, covering FC Barcelona for The Athletic. Follow Pol on Twitter @polballus