Hi community!
Hansi Flick's team comfortably made it through their Copa del Rey debut thanks to a brace from Lewandowski and goals from Eric Garcia and Pablo Torre, two of the standouts.
Youngster Toni Fernández became the second youngest debutant with the Barça first team, at just 16 years, 5 months and 17 days.
A comfortable victory for Barça to start 2025 and secure a ticket to the last 16 of the Copa del Rey. Amid the uncertainty of the registrations of Dani Olmo and Pau Víctor, who did not travel to Aragon while waiting for their situation to be resolved, the Blaugrana team easily beat UD Barbastro (0-4) and gained morale for the Spanish Super Cup, which will start on January 8 with the semi-finals against Athletic Club.
Despite the significant difference in category with Barbastro, a Second RFEF team, coach Hansi Flick did not want any scares in the cup debut and put out a line-up with fewer rotations than expected. The big change in the starting eleven was the debut of Polish goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny between the sticks, and Ronald Araujo also made his debut this season. He was a starter in the centre of defence and returned to play 230 days after suffering a serious muscle injury in the Copa América. Koundé, Iñigo and Gerard Martín completed the defensive line, while Eric Garcia acted as a pivot and gave more offensive freedom to Pedri and De Jong to accompany the new trident of Pablo Torre, Fermín and Lewandowski. Rotations, yes, but just the right ones.
With the game settled, Flick gave the opportunity to debut with the first team to the very young Toni Fernández, who at just 16 years, 5 months and 17 days became the second youngest debutant in Barça's history, only behind Lamine Yamal. The brazen attacker showed some signs of his talent and set up his teammates in good conditions to score the 'manita', but the score did not change. A cup win and good feelings for Barça, who now have their minds set on winning the Spanish Super Cup.
See You soon!
Posted Using InLeo Alpha