Lamin Jamal and Lewandowski give Montjuic the first joy of the Flick era
Lamin Jamal and Robert Lewandowski, with one goal each, brought the first joy of the Flick era to Barça fans this Saturday, who saw Barcelona beat Athletic (2-1) in the first official match of the EA Sports LaLiga season at the Luis Companys Olympic Stadium.
Despite the limited shots and accumulation of losses, the Barça team showed signs of the script borrowed by the German coach, minimizing Athletic from pressure, dominating with the ball and generally dominating the match in which they showed the best chances.
Lamin Yamal opened the scoring in the first half with a shot from outside the penalty area, Oyhan Sanset equalised from the penalty spot before the break and Robert Lewandowski, who had previously hit the post twice, scored the winner in the 75th minute.
Barcelona arrived at the event weakened by absence, with five injured (Araujo, Gavi, De Jong, Ansu Fati and Christensen) and immersed in a rarefied atmosphere due to the delicate economic situation of an organization that still cannot register Dani Olmo for financial fair play despite the transfer of Gundogan.
Faced with these adversities, Flick went with an attacking eleven with Rafinha and Pedri as youngster Marc Bernal’s flank starting for the second game in a row, and selected Lamine Jamal, Ferran Torres and Lewandowski in attack.
On the other hand, the new thing at Athletic is the expected return of internationals Vivian and Nico Williams, who have been criticised by some local fans for their decision to stay in Bilbao despite Barca’s interest in signing them this summer.
However, the noise did not frighten the visiting star, who, with his slalom strikes starting from the left flank, was the most persistent of the red and whites in the first half of Barça’s clear dominance.
True to the goal-oriented play that Flick preaches, Barcelona deployed their defensive line deep into the opposition’s territory and suffocated Athletic with one of their main weapons: pressing. Once they won the ball back, the Blaugrana used only a few vertical touches.
Balde opened up the field on the left, Lewandowski pinned down the central defenders, Ferran found himself in the center of the field, and Pedri and Rafinha broke into space. Although the main hero was again Lamin Jamal.
The winger whipped in a poisoned cross which Lewandowski narrowly missed and, after Rafinha and Ferran had rattled Padilla with their first two central strikes of the day, Lamine opened the scoring with a shot from outside the area which Lekoue saved with his own header.
Athletic responded with direct play, breaking control of Inaki Williams and intercepting Nico, but the goal was about to fall to Barca again on a counter-attack, which Lewandowski hit the post.
When it seemed that Barcelona had the duel under control, the game ended in a draw. Kubarsi fell in the penalty area on Berenguer’s supporting leg, and the referee, using the VAR system, indicated the maximum penalty, which Sunset subtly converted.
After the break, the Blaugrana regained control and almost scored with two shots from Lewandowski, but the first attempt was saved by the post and Padilla saved the second soon after. The Pole did not give up as his persistence was rewarded.
Pedri surprised the Bilbao defence by coming in from the second line and his cross, saved by Padilla, fell to Lewandowski, who did not forgive the opportunity and thus gave Barça their second victory of the season in two days Liga.
Despite their efforts, Athletic lacked the foresight to create danger in the dying minutes against a solid Barca side and they extended their losing streak in Barca’s homeland, where they have not won since 2001, and took 23 visits to add three points.