Barcelona achieved an important 1-2 victory over Rayo Vallecano and the Blaugrana team left good impressions again, especially in the second half and the Catalan team was able to achieve victory for the third match in a row.
Hans Flick seeks to lead Barcelona towards the path to return to titles again after the difficult season that Barcelona went through and came out of it empty-handed without any title.
According to information received from the Spanish newspaper El Nacional, the entry of Dani Olmo and the exit of Ferran Torres in the last match against Rayo Vallecano was the key to Barcelona’s victory.
The newspaper added: During the match in Vallecano, it was clear that Barcelona is a completely different team with and without Ferran Torres on the field as Ferran started for the third match in a row, in a decision that many considered a last attempt by Flick to give him confidence.
However, the experiment did not succeed as Torres had a disastrous first half, as he passed poor passes and did not contribute in defense or attack.
The change came in the first half, and Flick did not hesitate to remove Ferran and send him to the bench and bring on Dani Olmo, a player with a more accurate reading of the game and indeed the difference was immediate.
With Olmo on the pitch, Barcelona found the fluidity and depth they so desperately needed, and Lewandowski once again felt comfortable in his role as a striker.
The newspaper continued: Lewandowski particularly appreciates the understanding he has with players like Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo or Rafinha, who bring quality and vision, which Ferran has not achieved at any time since arriving at Barcelona.
Lewandowski is clear: Ferran cannot be his partner in attack for a striker of his stature, who is used to playing with the best, there is no doubt that if Barcelona want to get the best out of their top scorer, they must surround him with players who speak the same language on the pitch, and that means leaving Torres on the bench.
Lewandowski’s message is clear and Flick will have to pay attention to it at this stage of the season. Barcelona cannot afford to weaken their attack with experiments that do not work. The numbers do not lie and the team has improved greatly with Dani Olmo, Lamine Yamal and Raphinha, players who understand what Lewandowski needs and who are able to improve his game. On the other hand, with Ferran, the attack becomes predictable and lacks ferocity.