Koundé to Barcelona: Transfer News & Details

Barça did their homework this Tuesday against Eintracht at the Camp Nou and are already dreaming of the Top 8 of the Champions League. The team led by Hansi Flick won 2-1 in a match that went uphill after Knauff’s early goal, but in which the culés showed character to turn it around in the second half with two headers from Koundé. With this victory, the Catalans extend their good league streak and regain ground in Europe after the defeats against PSG and Chelsea.

And the game was a pending account for Barcelona. The blush of 2022, when the Camp Nou was dyed white, gave way to a very plugged-in crowd eager to see the best continental competition in the renovated Barça home. That impetus was accompanied by Flick with an eleven that was surprising due to the new ownership of Eric García in the midfield ahead of a recovered De Jong. The former City player was the anchor and at the same time one of those in charge of sustaining the pressure after a loss with which to suffocate a very neat Eintracht in getting the ball out from behind.

That was the plan. Flick is crystal clear in his approaches and this time he did not catch a Toppmöller who was waiting for him by surprise. Eintracht gave up meters, put five players in line for the defensive phase with the aim of multiplying the help on the sides and, if that were not enough, they hit Skhiri with Fermín with a man-mark to stop the threat between the lines. Thus, Barça was diluted. The culés were able to settle in the opposite field, but they had all avenues of danger blocked by a surprisingly orderly Eintracht. From being the team with the most goals in the Bundesliga to stopping the League’s top scorer.

Toppmöller’s idea also included a threat to the backs of the Catalan centre-backs. The German team knew how to break the pressure on several occasions and on one of them Knauff stood alone against Joan García after a pass from Brown. The German striker defined it as if it were Haaland himself and turned Flick’s plan upside down, which had to look for new formulas. And he looked for them without success before the break. He centered on Raphinha to disorient the man-marking imposed on Fermín, deployed the two full-backs to have more depth and even tried a more direct game, but the azulgranas went to the locker room with only a clear chance after a long-range shot by Gerard Martín.

turning point

After the restart, Flick read the situation and brought on Rashford for Fermín, tied up in the first act. The Englishman, located in the left sector, could unbalance the match by being a loose verse, that player capable of turning everything around through individual action. And so it was. Eintracht forgave two clear chances, when Rashford appeared to sign a cross that could well appear in the football books so that Koundé came in like a flash to head the tie and change the match in the blink of an eye.

And from then on, Barça turned their backs and Eintracht’s legs shook. The Germans were that team that conceded six goals at the hands of RB Leipzig last weekend and just three minutes later they conceded the second on a cross from Lamine Yamal that was again finished off by an unleashed Koundé. Barça did the most difficult thing at a time of Eintracht’s fragility and from there they were able to manage the income. Flick introduced De Jong and Ferran, but the scoreboard no longer moved and the culés added three points that allow them to continue in the fight to be in the Top 8.