By Neel Shelat
Barcelona again on track in 2025
After a scintillating begin to the season, Barcelona appeared to expire of steam in direction of the tip of 2024. They gained only one and misplaced 4 of their final seven LaLiga matches of the yr, going from a six-point lead on the prime of the standings to an equal deficit. Nevertheless, they’ve regarded a lot better for the reason that flip of the yr.
The 5-2 Supercopa win over Actual Madrid will need to have performed a world of fine to their confidence as they went on to place 5 previous Actual Betis, staged a dramatic turnaround to win a nine-goal Champions League thriller in opposition to Benfica and scored 12 instances in two current fixtures in opposition to Valencia.
Whereas it has not been all clean crusing for Hansi Flick’s aspect as they’ve drawn a few video games, it’s protected to say that they’re much nearer to their greatest now than they had been two months in the past.
Ferran Torres delivering as Barcelona’s fourth ahead possibility
One of many main points Barcelona needed to deal with within the first half of the season was their lack of high quality depth past the first-choice entrance three of Lamine Yamal, Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha. Certainly, it was no coincidence that their downturn in type coincided with their teenage winger’s ankle points.
Lamine Yamal nonetheless appears to be like fairly irreplaceable, however the excellent news for the Blaugrana is that they appear to have an honest backup for the opposite two as Ferran Torres has proven himself able to doing a job within the extra central positions. He has 5 objectives and an help in his final seven appearances, together with a hat-trick in his second begin of the yr at Valencia in midweek.
Because the stakes get ever greater within the second half of the season, having a rotation possibility like Torres may show invaluable for Barcelona to not solely get an affect off the bench but in addition relaxation their stars in sure video games.
García Pimienta’s reunion along with his boyhood membership
García Pimienta was affiliated with FC Barcelona for properly over half his life, beginning as a prospect of their youth academy and occurring to spend about 20 years as a coach. Nevertheless, he was sacked from the B workforce publish in 2021 in a transfer that also confounds many, himself included.
The Spanish tactician was quickly employed by Las Palmas, with whom he gained promotion to LaLiga. His extremely possession-based model of play attracted a whole lot of consideration and earned him a transfer to Sevilla this summer time, however he has not been capable of flip across the fortunes of the constant underperformers’ to this point.
Sevilla’s final league victory over Barcelona was all the best way again in 2015, so the chance of García Pimienta incomes his first factors in opposition to his boyhood membership on the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán is sort of low.
Prediction
All indicators level to a snug multi-goal win for Barcelona.
(Cowl picture from IMAGO)
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