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Typically when you rout your opponent by five goals, fans are going to be singing your praises.
Not this time for Barcelona. Not after last week, and not with the challenges that lie ahead.
We’ve been here before. Against the small teams of La Liga, which Alavés certainly is, the Blaugrana have routinely won with ease. The tactics work very well, and for that, Hansi Flick and his team deserve a lot of credit. At the end of a long season, consistency is the variable that perhaps matters the most towards winning the league.
This campaign, however, is all about taking the next step up. Barcelona will be judged in the end by how far they go in the Champions League, and by their ability to outlast Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid in Spain.
By that barometer, there are already warning signs that Flick as a manager, and Joan Laporta as the head of the club, have yet to learn the right lessons from the past two seasons.
Against PSG, the two time reigning European champions, and Real Madrid, they were simply out smarted by Luis Enrique and Jose Mourinho.
Barcelona have shown they have the talent and the drive to be the best team in the world. What they haven’t shown is an ability to adapt to their rivals and to shifting conditions internally.
The good news is that Barcelona’s injury crisis defensively may soon be over. Andreas Christensen, Jules Kounde, and Eric Garcia, should be back to full strength by the end of the next international break.
Against Aston Villa and Atletico Madrid this week, however, Flick will have big decisions to make, and he will be scrutinized for either way the games go.
Against Alaves, we learned that his short-term solution to patch together a defense was to start Brian Fariñas at full-back and Frenkie de Jong, fresh off his own injury, at center-back.
Fariñas was frankly outstanding given the circumstances. For one, he is a midfielder by trade, and two, this was his first start for the Barcelona first team. De Jong also didn’t put a foot wrong.
Will Flick run back the same defensive formula this week against stronger rivals, or was this just meant as a very short term bridge as other players rest and recover?
I’m still not convinced about the decision to alienate Alejandro Balde. For all of his attacking limitations, and I agree that for Flick’s system in particular his profile isn’t ideal, he has a lot to offer defensively, especially compared to João Cancelo. The decision to leave Balde on the bench this week will be a big risk, and one that Flick must own if things don’t go Barca’s way.
The season won’t be won or lost this week, that’s true. What we will get to see though is a glimpse of how Flick may manage his way through the biggest games come crunch time in the Spring.
Barcelona is not a deep team compared to their biggest rivals, especially on defense. The crisis they are living through now could easily reappear later.
Flick will have to decide if he keeps his feet firmly on the gas of plan A at all times, or if he can engineer a plan B that allows his team to be pragmatic when his team is hobbled, or simply to counter the tactics of his opponents in high pressure games.
The plan B wouldn’t be revolutionarily different, but it would require recognition that his high-intensity system becomes vulnerable when his team isn’t at full strength, and when his rivals possess enough talent to do damage in moments of transition.
This week will be an important test, and a chance for redemption.
These games won’t be easy. Aston Villa is undefeated so far in the Champions League and coached by one of the best in Unai Emery. Atletico Madrid will be motivated with a chance to leapfrog Barcelona in La Liga if they win.
What will Flick do knowing the stakes?
For now, bravo on an incredible performance against Alaves.
Will we see the same approach this week? If so, Flick may be playing with fire.
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