Before the game, Hansi Flick insisted there was nothing wrong at Barcelona and that his team was in a position to make history. Aston Villa manager Unai Emery, meanwhile, had described the Catalans as one of the leading contenders to win this season’s Champions League. After watching the two teams face off, it’s fair to say they were both right.

Barcelona’s 3-0 victory over Aston Villa made up for any disappointment from previous setbacks. The Blaugrana faced a more than worthy opponent, taking on a team with Premier League intensity and coming away with a crucial Champions League win.

Flick has found his ideal lineup

When Flick gets something going, he doesn’t know when to stop. He’s like the stubborn country bumpkin who refuses to get off the railroad tracks as a locomotive bears down on him, telling the train to keep blowing its whistle if it wants him to move.

Flick has found Fariñas at right back to complete his ideal starting XI, and now he’s ready to take the rotation policy to infinity and beyond, regardless of who the next opponent might be. Something has changed over the past two weeks, since the games against Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid, both of which left Barcelona running around without anything to show for its efforts.

If it was a question of running, Barcelona and Aston Villa certainly did plenty of that. Both teams tore around the field under heavy rain from the opening whistle in a game that, given the conditions, could just as easily have been played in Birmingham. This was old-school Premier League soccer from start to finish. In other words, it was much more of a Fermín kind of game than a Pedri kind of game. Rodri, meanwhile, adapted to the circumstances better than anyone.

Villa came out employing the same man-marking approach in midfield used by Real Madrid and PSG, although with a higher press. Barcelona initially struggled but eventually found a way through by using the same approach themselves. Lamine Yamal won the ball in the opposition penalty area after being on the receiving end of a nasty foul by Buendía that left him limping. Gomes then made a costly mistake, allowing Barcelona to score the opening goal. The Blaugrana star managed to find the net despite still limping after the Argentine’s crunching challenge.

Barcelona still have defensive vulnerabilities

After taking the lead, Barcelona did what it so often does when playing host: it handed the opposition three consecutive chances to equalize. Two came from corners, situations in which Flick’s team continues to defend like a bunch of kids.

All the weaknesses Barcelona showed around its own penalty area, with Joan García particularly alert to rushing off his line and closing down the space available to Nico Jackson, turned into ferocious aggression at the other end. There, the Blaugrana forwards made life extremely uncomfortable for Villa’s defenders.

Fermín was in his element. Physical battles, 50-50 balls, fouls and shoving matches were exactly what he wanted. Others, like Pedri, struggled to get into the game. They simply couldn’t find a way to make their presence felt. Raphinha deserves special mention. Even when he wasn’t getting a touch of the ball, the Brazilian kept running like a man possessed, chasing every run and closing down every opponent.

Rain, a frantic tempo and an end-to-end contest were the three defining features of a first half that left the game finely balanced. With two tacticians like Flick and Unai Emery in the dugouts, their next moves would help determine the outcome of a match that was far from over.

But Barcelona’s first substitution was forced. Rodri was left on the bench at halftime because of a calf problem, with Bernal coming on in his place. Fortunately for Barcelona, the change also gave Flick proof that his team can cope without the Madrid-born midfielder. Rodri is important, but he’s not indispensable.

Raphinha delivers when Barcelona need him most

If there’s one player who should be considered untouchable, it’s Raphinha.

His first-half performance was an homage to Sisyphus, the figure from Greek mythology condemned to push a boulder up a mountain, only to watch it roll back down and have to start all over again. That was the story of the Brazilian’s opening 45 minutes. In the second half, however, he finally got his reward, scoring twice.

His first goal made it 2-0 in the 53rd minute, the culmination of yet another all-action display from a player seemingly born for games like this.

The Brazilian then put the game to bed with his second goal, making it 3-0 after a move involving Cancelo, who was superb going forward but far less convincing when tracking back. With more than half an hour still to play, the contest was effectively over.

It was time to turn attention to Atlético Madrid.

Raphinha, Pedri and Fermín made their way to the bench, while only Lamine Yamal continued pushing for a fourth goal. On a night when Barcelona finally managed to keep a clean sheet, that achievement was arguably more important than matching the intensity of the Premier League in a Champions League game.

The victory gave Flick’s team more than enough evidence to shake off its reputation as an unreliable side. Barcelona had shown that it can be trusted to deliver, and that it has every reason to believe it can compete for the biggest prize in European soccer.

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