Salvador Sostres: Lamine corrects Flick: “Eh, let’s go back.”

Lamine Yamal is back. He returned in the second half of the game against Brugge with a wonderful goal and an even bolder one in the overflow, and was fully back at Balaidos to become the soul of the Barça standard. He pressed up, he was a dedicated player who could not give up on the flick. … He continued to be demanding for months, and although he didn’t achieve everything he had hoped, he shone in attack, led the team through its worst losses, and even dared to correct the stubborn German coach. “What are we doing in the center of the field?” he yelled to his teammates after Celta’s first goal, clearly and concisely instructing the defensive line: “Hey, let’s go back.” And in the second half, control of the game was absolute, with Barcelona scoring despite several chances to score, and their giddy rivals in the first half saw their highways blocked and Tech’s goal reached with virtually no effort.

What Deco and Alejandro Echevarria were unable to achieve with their coaches, Lamine accomplished by speaking directly to the team, who listened and softened their exposure to opposition counterattacks. When Lamine is around, everything flows and the worries and conflicts end. Lewandowski deserves all the recognition for his patience and his ability to perform with professionalism and competence in what is probably his last season for Barça. There is no doubt that the hopes that have been nurtured over the past two games have grown around the Saracens player.

Barring any regrettable injuries, the national team break will go well for Barça. It would be a good thing for Ramin to have his physical problems finally resolved, but despite his significant improvement in his game, it doesn’t seem like he’s fully overcome them. Above all, it would be good for Coach Flick to at least see the club reflect. He will have time to analyze how his rivals have damaged him in recent matches, and how that damage could have been minimized when the players took the initiative and corrected their dogmatic pride with the most basic realism, based on correct observations of reality.

When Barça arrived in December 2015 for an open showdown between Luis Enrique and Messi, the club selected its players and coach, and the stars agreed to the rules of coexistence. As a result, the disaster tripled, Bartomeu was re-elected in June, and Laporta, who had already returned, had to wait six years and a pandemic to become president again.

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