Hansi Flick’s dream start to life in Barcelona endured its first dose of bitter reality in September.
After cantering into the new season on the back of five straight wins, the Catalan giants suffered defeat in their Champions League opener against Monaco. They lost first-choice goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen to a long-term injury three days later before ending the month by shipping four goals in a convincing reverse against Osasuna.
Despite the lowlights, there were plenty of bright spots for a side that recovered to lead La Liga heading into October’s international break. Using the poll which drew upon the opinion of more than 20,000 Barcelona fans in 90min’s dedicated WhatsApp channel (link to follow below) here are the team’s standout individuals from the last month of action.
Raphinha hasn’t always enjoyed a brilliant relationship with Barcelona‘s demanding fanbase. Flick’s decision to make the Brazilian forward one of the club’s five captains at the start of the season was greeted with confusion from supporters who were not entirely impressed by a haul of six league goals last term. Raphinha already has five in La Liga this season, including a brace in September’s helter-skelter 5-1 win over Villarreal.
The former Leeds United winger has blossomed in more of a central role, embracing the physical demands introduced by Flick and thriving in the direct style which got the best out of him in Yorkshire during Marcelo Bielsa’s time at the club. By the end of September, Raphinha led La Liga for high intensity runs and darts behind the opposition backline, per The Athletic. Such tenacity has emphatically won over the Catalan crowd.
In stark contrast to Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski has enjoyed his own return to form this autumn by running less.
The prolific Pole recorded almost half as many sprints as Raphinha over the same time frame, unburdened by the draining demands of leading Barcelona’s press as Flick has instructed the team’s wide players to charge forward first. The 36-year-old only has to shadow the opposition’s defensive midfielder, focussing instead on getting in the box and doing what he has always done best: score goals.
As recently as this summer, Lamine Yamal was still bunking up with youth-team players at the club’s famed La Masia academy. “My bedroom is just two minutes away from the Barcelona dressing room,” Yamal shrugged in an interview with GQ in July. “I don’t need too much time to get there.”
The 17-year-old has since moved out of the student digs but the commute has not forced his lofty level to drop. Quite the opposite.
Rarely is there a game in which Yamal does not do something to make the crowd gasp. Whether it’s a deft nutmeg, ripsnorting shot or a pass with the outside of his boot against Villarreal which was so outrageous that the Spanish publication AS hailed it “the assist of the century”, there is seemingly no end to the teen’s talent. No wonder Flick lauds his young prodigy as “unbelievable” at every given opportunity.
The only thing which could potentially deny Yamal topping every popularity poll in the future will be injury – a fate which has befallen so many of his teammates and forced him to return early from the October international break.
Lamine Yamal’s Barcelona stats in September
|
Stat |
Value across all competitions |
|---|---|
|
Games |
5 |
|
Goals |
4 |
|
Assists |
1 |
|
Dribbles |
30 |
|
Player |
September appearances |
Poll votes (proportion) |
|---|---|---|
|
Lamine Yamal |
5 |
14,238 (69.7%) |
|
Raphinha |
5 |
4,173 (20.4%) |
|
Robert Lewandowski |
4 |
1,653 (8.1%) |
|
Other |
N/A |
372 (1.8%) |
