Barça won (0-2) the first Copa tie in the surprise return of Ter Stegen as starter. Below, the highlights of the Blaugrana’s triumph in Guadalajara.
Eric challenges modern football. Eric Garcia is the footballer who has played the most this season with Barça. His figures are spectacular: he has participated in the 24 games that have been played so far. He has started in five of six matches in the Champions League and in 15 of 17 in the League. In the Cup, Flick could have given him a rest, but he left Curbasí on the bench and put him in the center, while Casadó would start on the wing because Koundé, the second player who has played the most minutes on the team, has had some discomfort this season. Eric played the whole game (in three positions) and defies the minutes requirement of modern football.
Recover Christensen. That Eric is a starter is no news, that Christensen is. This newspaper has already published a report in which the various sources consulted – professionals who work or have worked with the Dane – do not hesitate to affirm that he has the capabilities and qualities to be “the best central player in the squad”. The reason for the report was to answer why a centre-back as good as Christensen was not playing at all. The reason lies in a mental block, which makes him play with fear and anxiety and this makes Flick no longer trust him. With the Cup came his opportunity and the Dane was the best at Barça.
Ter Stegen, on the sideboard. The situation with Ter Stegen is not pleasant for anyone. Nor for the player, a defenestrated captain who, since winning the pulse to send Bravo out, has never been a substitute; nor for Flick, who has to deal with such a hot potato in the dressing room; nor for Barça, which has turned one of the players who earns the most from the squad into a devalued asset, from which he will not get any income and with a contract signed until 2028. The best for everyone would be an exit, but it depends on Ter Stegen. Flick made him play -“only today”, he said-, to put him in the window and, also, to make the German notice how good it is to feel like a footballer again. “He’s the captain, he’s been at the club for many years and I’ve given him the chance to play,” the coach would explain.
Inventions that don’t work. A visit to an opponent and a field of lower categories is not the best test to draw conclusions, but it can leave some clues. Barça only has one specialist in the position of 9, Robert Lewandowski, and a relief, who started as a winger and has been uncovered as a forward with a good performance, which is Ferran Torres. In Guadalajara, Flick rested both of them. And for quite a while, they were missed. In the first half, Rashford was not comfortable again and performed much better on the left. Fermín’s bet of false nine from the restart didn’t work either.
