The happy days do not end in Barcelona. Hansi Flick’s side signed off a magnificent week by local rivals Espanyol in another powerful display — 32 minutes were enough for them to score three goals and seal the win.
Dani Olmo made the most of his return to the starting line-up by scoring twice and reminding everyone of how positive his signing has been — the Spain international has scored five times in five La Liga appearances. Sunday’s double means Barcelona are the only side in the top-five European leagues who have four players with at least five goals this season.
5 – Barcelona are the only team with four different players to have scored at least five goals in Europe’s top five leagues this season: Robert Lewandowski (14), Raphinha Dias (7), Lamine Yamal and Dani Olmo (5). Overwhelming. pic.twitter.com/hd8vMqHxoc
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) November 3, 2024
Lamine Yamal had another afternoon keeping fans on the edge of their seats during the first half, topping it off with a ‘trivela’ (outside-of-the-foot) assist to Olmo for the first goal. Raphinha completed the scoring for Barcelona, who were too much to contain for Espanyol during the first half.
Every player is in great form, the team has a wide range of weapons to punish opposition and Flick seems to have found his preferred line-up. La Masia’s new talent, Marc Casado, has deservedly settled into the team ahead of Frenkie de Jong. Casado, 21, had another impressive night, adding his fifth assist of the season in all competitions. Barcelona are nine points clear at the top of La Liga, with Real Madrid having a game in hand.
The team behaved a bit like the game ended at half-time, though. They slowed down the tempo after the break and lost their grip, with Espanyol scoring and having two disallowed ‘goals’ due to offsides. Flick said he was not pleased with the second-half performance.
Olmo celebrating on Sunday (Josep Lago/AFP via Getty Images)
“Today I can accept it, it’s normal sometimes and we won,” Flick said in his post-match press conference. “But I told the players this was not enough; in the Champions League, we need to be at another level. This season has been spectacular, and we want to stay like this.”
It certainly did not affect the mood in Montjuic because Barcelona has been having a party for a week.
At Barca, exciting days over the past couple of years have been countable on one hand. Now fans are rubbing their eyes after victories over Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and local rivals Espanyol. This was 11 days that encapsulated the transformation the club has experienced in a matter of months.
Ronald Araujo, one of the dressing-room leaders, set up a team lunch last Wednesday at restaurant Masia Rosas, on the outskirts of Barcelona, to celebrate the latest results and keep the spirits high in the dressing room. On Thursday night, a smaller group also celebrated Ansu Fati’s 22nd birthday. A week of excitement was fully unleashed after the 4-0 win at the Santiago Bernabeu.
“We need to brag about this,” joked a Barcelona staff member when asked about the number of players the club allowed in the mixed zone (the area where players give interviews post-match) after the big wins against Bayern and Madrid. “If we don’t make the best out of days like those, I don’t know when we will.”
Inside the dressing room, there were other priorities. “Tres dias libres! Tres dias libres!” (‘Three days off, three days off!’), chanted the players at the Santiago Bernabeu dressing room, pushing Flick into letting them have an easy week. The German manager is understanding — to an extent — and allowed two.
Tres días libres 😎 pic.twitter.com/6GygrNajPo
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona_es) October 26, 2024
Flick, however, decided to take no rest. The day after El Clasico in Madrid, the 59-year-old headed on his own to the Johan Cruyff Stadium — where Barcelona Atletic (the B team) play their games — and oversaw the second team getting a 2-2 draw against Barakaldo in Spain’s third tier.
While the city was celebrating, Flick kept working. This is another example of how much being an outsider to the environment has helped the manager. Not just into not getting too carried away but also impressing every Barcelona fan with his commitment to the job.
The cherry on top, however, was the Ballon d’Or gala.
Olmo, Yamal and Cubasi at the Ballon d’Or ceremony (Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)
“Vinicius Balon de playa,” the Barcelona fans sang in the stands during the game against Espanyol — alluding that the Madrid winger had won a beach ball instead of the Ballon d’Or.
“Witnessing all what happened with Real Madrid, the reaction when they realised Vinicius Junior was not winning the award, the approach they took on a PR level and everything just two days after our win there… it felt even more harmful than if we had scored a fifth at the Bernabeu,” a Barcelona dressing-room source, who wishes to remain anonymous to protect relationships, conceded to The Athletic during the week.
Joan Laporta and the club did everything they could to capitalise on it.
In women’s football, Barcelona replicated the 2010 Ballon d’Or podium formed by Lionel Messi, Xavi and Andres Iniesta — Aitana Bonmati, Caroline Graham Hansen and Salma Paralluelo. Laporta came up to the stage at the gala and did not need one second to highlight how much of “a great honour” it was to be present at the ceremony. This was, of course, in contrast with Madrid’s absence when Vinicius Jr did not win the main award. Lamine Yamal won the Kopa Trophy and ended his speech with a “visca el Barca” (come on Barca), fueling the president’s happiness.
“Just being here is already a big pleasure for us,” Barcelona 17-year-old Pau Cubarsi stated at the event’s mixed zone. He also travelled to the gala despite not being among the winners. This was another cheeky wink.
Even Rodri, during his speech after being crowned as Ballon d’Or winner, named Yamal as the next winner in line and left Vinicius Jr without a single mention.
It’s been a week in dreamland for the Catalan club. The financial struggles might not be over soon, but as La Masia flexes its muscle and the institution gets recognised at the biggest stage, Barcelona have reasons to believe their fantasy can keep on rolling.
(Top photo: Josep Lago/AFP via Getty Images)
