FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
FC Barcelona is set to play their biggest match since 2019 tonight.
The Catalan club face Inter at San Siro, where they must find a way to defeat the reigning Serie A champions and secure a place in the UEFA Champions League final.
Hansi Flick has done a great job of building a winning project at Barcelona, and the team has already won the Spanish Super Cup and the Copa del Rey. The team also holds a 4-point lead in La Liga and is one game away from its first Champions League final since 2015.
The first match between the two teams ended in a thrilling 3-3 draw. Defensively, the Catalan team was not at its best and Inter made the most of this opportunity.
Hansi Flick will try to correct all these mistakes tonight, otherwise Barcelona could be disqualified from the Champions League.
1: Ghosts of the past
Liverpool's Divock Origi (27) celebrates after scoring his team's fourth goal as Barcelona's defense looks dejected during the UEFA Champions League semi-final second leg match between Liverpool and Barcelona at Anfield on May 7, 2019 in Liverpool, England.
“The corner was taken quickly… Origi!” – Words that still haunt every Barcelona fan to this day. It was a dark day in the history of this beautiful club that went on to shape their future for the worse for the next five seasons.
The ghosts of Anfield have not yet been exorcised and, for the first time since that fateful day, Barcelona find themselves in the second leg of a Champions League semi-final. They took a 3-0 lead at Anfield, but still found a way to squander it.
Now, however, Barcelona head to San Siro without any advantage, with the first leg ending in a 3-3 draw. However, this Hansi Flick team is built differently and is the definition of a monster mentality. The team has performed beyond expectations this season.
Barcelona and Hansi Flick have a great chance to shake off the ghosts of the past and move forward, once and for all. It would be very important for this club to return to the Champions League final, and let's wait and see how it goes.
The full-back's dilemma ahead of the Barcelona - Inter Milan match
FC Barcelona's Dani Olmo (C) celebrates scoring his team's second goal, during the La Liga match between Rayo Vallecano and FC Barcelona at Estadio de Vallecas on August 27, 2024 in Madrid, Spain.
If you look at Barcelona's squad this season, there are only two positions where the drop in quality between the starters and the reserve options is like night and day.
As fate would have it, heading into the biggest game of the season, Barcelona will be without Balde and Kounden against Inter at San Siro, with the pair both missing through injury. Hansi Flick has a big question mark over who to start in these positions.
At the right-back position, it is highly unlikely that Fort will be trusted in a match of this importance, and Eric Garcia will likely replace him, as he did in the first match.
The only other viable option would be Ronald Araujo as the starter.
Until the first match against Inter, Gerard Martin has been the one who has replaced that position whenever Balde has missed a match. However, it is very likely that Hansi Flick will decide to activate Inigo Martinez in the starting lineup tonight to accommodate Araujo in the starting lineup.
Has Flick designed a solution for the default threats?
FC Internazionale's Denzel Dumfries scores his team's third goal, beating FC Barcelona's Wojciech Szczesny during the first leg of the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League semi-final.
Barcelona dominated the open play against Inter, but struggled defensively, especially in stopping the danger from corners or crosses into the box. Inter's incredible dominance overcame the Catalan side, and they managed to score two goals from corner kicks.
The Catalan club's marking left a lot to be desired that evening, with Dani Olmo marking Denzel Dumfries during corner kicks. That cannot be the case in the second leg at San Siro, and Flick will likely have devised a plan for the same.
A clear positive for Barcelona in this regard would be the return of Robert Lewandowski, who is excellent in the air, and the other option could perhaps be the plan to include Ronald Araujo in the starting lineup, who has the physical skills to help Flick's team.
If there's one thing we know about Flick and his team this season, it's that they've rarely made the same mistake twice, and the German coach will surely have devised a plan to help his team defend tight shots. Let's wait and see how it goes.
Lini një Përgjigje